


Le lapin poursuit le chat

by MellowFellowEllie



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Altruistic suicidal ideation, Attempt at Humor, Chat Noir Being Chat Noir, Emotionally Repressed mc, Fluff, Gen, German/French mc, I'm Bad At Tagging, Light Angst, M/M, Minor Chat Noir/Ladybug, Socially Awkward MC, basically he's more than happy to give his life for others, because I'm not very creative, character suffers from PTSD and anxiety, follows the plot of the show, mostly just mc pining over Chat wishing him happiness, some flashbacks of childhood abuse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-04
Updated: 2019-10-30
Packaged: 2019-11-09 09:25:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 25
Words: 93,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17999204
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MellowFellowEllie/pseuds/MellowFellowEllie
Summary: Being Lapin Blanc was a freeing experience. He could laugh, smile, even be snarky, without worrying about upsetting people. It was weird to think about, but hiding under the mask let him be who he was always scared to be - himself.Evan loved being a miraculous holder. From the rush of leaping across buildings, to the simple feeling of sitting with his Kwami.  It made him happy. Yeah, he still struggled with his anxiety and the occasional panic attack, but it helped having an escape. He wasn't okay yet, but he was getting there.





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> So, just a quick note - Evan has Complex PTSD from past childhood abuse and doesn't have the best opinion of himself. Now, not everything’s going to be all emotional and depressing as below - it probably tends to be more mellow - but there will be moments of traumatic flashbacks.
> 
> Thanks for reading the first chapter of (hopefully) many.

_Pulling at my shirt nervously, I stare at the ground and try to fight back the tears filling my eyes. “You disgust me so much! I can’t even stand to look at you!” the words make me recoil and I tighten my grip on my shirt and let out a chocked sob. The room goes quiet and I cautiously glance up only to feel a sharp pain on my cheek that causes me to stumble and fall. A throbbing pain radiates from my face and makes me start to openly sob. Keeping my watery gaze on the worn carpet, I stiffen in fear when I notice black heels out of the corner of my eyes. With only a second of a warning, the top of my hair is grabbed roughly and I’m forced to face the monster in front of me. “I’ll give you something to cry about,” she sneers at me with a terrifying glare before pulling back her hand and I tense, ready for the next wave of pain...except when it comes it feels more like a soft pat. Looking up, her mouth opens to shout at me again and I stiffen. “Evan!” I jump at the unfamiliar voice yelling my name and start to struggle. “Evan, please! It’s just a dream!” What? But— “Come on, you have to…”_

“…wake up.” I jerk awake and immediately start to panic at the feeling of someone touching me. Trying to focus my fuzzy gaze, terror strikes me and I’m back at that place with that…that _monster_ and no matter what, I have to get away. I’ve already made it worse by struggling. The only thing left to do is get away.

Ripping myself out of her grip, I quickly scramble away and protect my face with my arms. “I-I’m sorry,” I choke out and keep my gaze on the carpeted floor. Struggling to breathe, I feel my stomach churn as thoughts start racing through my head about what she’d say and do. Running, and rerunning, scenarios through my head my mouth starts to water and I try to stop the bile threatening to rise up.

A hand suddenly on my shoulder pushes me over the edge and the absolutely revolting feeling of it causes me to dry heave. The nauseous feeling gets worse and before I can take a breath, I feel the bile coming up and the only thing I can do is lurch forward and vomit all over the carpet in front of me. The strong smell of stomach acid makes me gag and I squeeze my watery eyes closed and try to focus on anything else.

 “—an, you have to...” The ringing in my ears starts to go away and I blink tiredly. “—down. It’s okay; you’re going to be okay…” Recognizing the soft voice speaking, I look around in confusion because I’m not _there_ anymore.

Shuddering in relief, I look up and notice the woman kneeling by me. “Aunt Claire…?” I whisper out in bewilderment. “What—” I clear my throat—“what happened?”

Aunt Claire wipes at her eyes and lets out a watery laugh. “I came to wake you up and when I came in you…” she takes a deep breath and wipes at her eyes again before looking frustrated. “It was my fault. You looked so scared and I touched you without thinking and I…god, I _know_ you hate being touched, but I...” she shakes her head and focuses back on me. “You go take a shower. I’ll clean up and, if you’re up for it, you can head to the studio, okay?”  

Torn between wanting to scrub away the reminder of my dream and wanting to clean up my mess, I stand up and go to step towards her but stop. “I’ll clean it...”

“Nonsense—” she waves her hand and smiles gently—“you look exhausted and I’m sure a hot shower will help you relax.”

I frown but nod and stand awkwardly as I watch her leave to get cleaning supplies.

As soon as the door closes, a small mass zooms out from under my blankets and latches itself onto my arm. “Evan, I-I was so worried!” The Kwami cries out and squeezes my bicep with trembling arms. “Are you okay?”

The corner of my mouth twitches and I look down at the small rabbit. “I’m okay now, Blann.” I state and offer my ungloved hand for him to sit on. He floats over but stays hovering above my open palm nervously. Smiling lightly at him, I say, “It’s okay, Blann.”

Reassured, he drops down onto my scarred palm with a smile. Holding him in one hand, I tiredly stumble to my dresser and grab my clothes and hide him in them. Leaving my door open as I head down the attic stairs, I look guiltily at Aunt Claire when I pass by her.

Entering the bathroom and laying my clean clothes down, I hastily tear off my dirty ones and turn the hot water on as high as it will go and jump in. Hissing as the water burns my skin, I scrub at every part of my body until I’m satisfied and it’s red and uncomfortable. Blann frets over the temperature hurting me on the other side of the shower curtain but I ignore his whining.

Turning the water off and stepping out, I wipe the steamed up mirror and finally look at myself in the mirror. Pointedly ignoring the scar above my right eyebrow, I can only stare at my dull, grey eyes for a handful of seconds before frowning unhappily. Quickly moving my gaze up to my messy brown hair, I brush my fingers along the shaved part of my undercut. It was one of the only things I liked about myself. Immediately noticing the marred burn scar on the back of my right hand, I look away in disgust and shove myself away from the sink.

Blann, noticing my falling mood, flies over to me and sets himself on my shoulder. “It’ll be okay, Evan.” I barely hold in a scoff at his words but he notices anyway and frowns. “It will be. You used to not be able to touch, or have anyone, touch you at all. Now, you can at least tolerate above the clothes touches, which is great!”

Sighing quietly, my eyes once again trail over to the reflection in the mirror. Hopefully the rest of the day would get better…


	2. Stormy Weather

Tugging on my white shirt and blue jeans, I roll my sleeves to my elbow and grab the black gloves on my dresser.

Blann flies around me and watches inquisitively as I slip them on. “Are you really going to be okay?”

“Yeah,” I glance at him as I clench my now gloved hand, “as they say ‘ _Das Leban ist kein Ponyhof_.” I recite in German and Blann looks at me in confusion. “Basically—life is never easy.”

Grabbing my green flannel shirt and tying it around my waist, I look over at Blann. I raise an eyebrow and jerk my head towards my open camera case and wait as he drops down.

“I’m ready!” he squeaks up at me from the darkness and I nod silently as I put my camera strap around my neck.

As soon as my hand touches my door knob, a series of rapid knocks echo from the door and a childish voice shouts from the other side. “Come on, Evan! Mom told me to tell you that she said I should tell you she said that you better hurry if you’re going to the park!”

Smiling lightly at her over complicated wording, I open the door and look down at her. “Good morning, Madeleine.” I greet my younger cousin calmly and watch with interest as her blue eyes sparkle happily up at me.

“Good morning!” she shouts excitedly and moves to grab my hand but stops and looks up at me. “Okay?”

I tense slightly and look away from her. I wanted to say yes; more often than not I usually did, but today… “I’m sorry, Maddie, but not now…” I trail off and half expect her to start to cry, but instead she just smiles up at me and nods her head. Turning around, she starts to march down the stairs and I follow behind her.

Going down another flight of stairs, we reach the 2nd floor with the living room and kitchen. The redhead skips over to Aunt Claire as she turns from the stove and smiles at the two of us. She chirps out a “Morning!” and hugs her before heading to the table to start eating her breakfast.

Smiling lightly, I readjust my bag and look over at the TV as a host animatedly talks about the Miss Weather-girl competition.

Glancing at the clock on the wall, I notice the time and look over to Aunt Claire nervously. “Can I leave, or…?” I trail off and Aunt Claire picks up on my uncomfortableness and her smile falls for a millisecond before returning.

“Of course.” Her smile isn’t as radiant as it usually is and I swallow because now I’ve made her upset.

Looking away from her, I bite the inside of my cheek and mumble out, “I’ll be back later” before shuffling out the door.

 _Stupid!_ She helped me a lot this morning and this is how I thank her?

Frowning as I head down another flight of stairs, I leave through the back entrance of the store and start my journey to the park.  Aunt Claire’s flower shop, _L'amour des fleurs_ , wasn't too far so I didn't have to worry about being late to the photoshoot.

Entering through the gate, I spot the photography crew and my mentor, Mr. Lacroix, setting up by the fountain. “Mr. Lacroix,” I greet the greying older man before getting straight to business. “What am I doing today?”

The grey haired man nods his head in greeting and goes back to fiddling with his camera. “Today we’re going to photograph—” he glances up and his eyebrows raise—“ah, he’s already here.”

Looking out of the corner of my eye, I immediately recognize who it is and take a deep breath. Walking towards us is no other than my fellow classmate, Adrien Agreste. A part of me wants to bash my head in because, apparently, it wasn’t good enough that we had the same classes, but now I have to spend an entire photoshoot with him.

Evidently recognizing me, Adrien’s facial expression sours and the familiar swirl of guilt forms, making me look away. I already felt horrible about what I did every day and made sure to avoid him and Nino all the time (which was hard being in the same class and all). Aunt Claire said it wasn’t my fault, but she’s too nice to say otherwise.

Mr. Lacroix goes to meet Adrien and I take the chance to go anywhere else except here.  

I spot one of the guys moving the equipment and go over to help. Standing beside them, I nod lightly and start to move things to where they need to go. Chancing a glance at Adrien, we make eye contact and he pointedly looks away. Not blaming him, I sigh quietly and get ready for the no doubt long shoot.

\---------------------------

The photoshoot surprisingly moves along with minimum problems (not counting one of the photographers getting a little too demanding and wanting an additional model) and the last photos by the fountain were wrapping up. In the end, my presence wasn’t even really needed, but I wasn’t going to turn down any potential learning experiences.   

While helping the others pack the nonessential equipment, a loud gust of wind, followed by screams, makes me whip around. My eyes shoot to the sky and I go still when I see an Akumatized girl laughing. Hearing the groans of people around me, I clench my fist and glare up at her before looking around for a place to transform.

Not having much time, I rush out of the park and duck into a nearby alley as Blann quickly flies out of hiding. Zooming around nervously, he stops in front of my face and looks at me excitedly. “Are you ready, Evan?” he questions quietly and when I nod he takes a deep breath and smiles.

Not wasting any time, I roll my shoulders and say, “ears up!”

Looking out the alleyway, my eyes widen as I watch a bus flying straight towards Ladybug and Chat Noir. Not wasting any time, I run to them and manage to quickly knock them out of the way.

Tumbling down the road, we eventually skid to a stop and I quickly jump up at grin down at them. “Haha that was real close, wasn’t it?” I laugh and offer my hands to both of them.

They easily take my hand and pull themselves up. Watching as theu dust themselves off, I’m once again happy that my suit is ninety-nine percent covered.

“Thanks, Lapin, you showed up just in the nick of time,” Ladybug states with a smile as she observes the destruction around us.

Chat crosses his arms with a huff and mutters, “I totally had it under control” with a pout.

“Sure, kitty, whatever you say." Ladybug rolls her eyes in exasperation. "Let’s get going.”

The three of us take off down the street and I make sure to go slow so I don’t outrun them. “So, anyone know what has her umbrella in a twist?” I question while taking in the destruction everywhere.

“Maybe she’s got some unresolved anger issues?” Ladybug offers.

Chat adds, “or maybe she didn’t pass her driving test.”

We’re not running long before the girl pops up on a nearby broken TV. “Hello viewers,” she greets with a smile. "Here’s the latest forecast for the first day of summer.” She steps back and looks at the weather tracker. “Looks like Mother Nature had a change in plans—” her umbrella points to the screen and a snowflake appears—“summer vacation is officially over!”

“Already?” Chat bemoans, “But I look so good in a swimsuit.”

Ladybug looks at him in surprise and he wiggles his eyebrows as I chuckle. “I’m sure you do, but this suit will have to do until then.”

Chat apparently takes offense and crosses his arms with a pout.

“Calm down you two.” Ladybug looks away from the screen to us, “At least now we know where to find her.” 

Nodding my head, a thought comes to me and I smirk at Chat. “Hey, Chat…” he turns towards me with narrowed eyes and I quickly shoot past him, “I’ll race you!” I yell out as I race forward with a laugh.

Chat immediately runs after me and shouts about me cheating but I pretend not to hear him. Grinning widely, I keep my pace slow enough that I’m _just_ far enough ahead of him that it’ll frustrate him. Spotting an overturned car, I vault off of it and swing up on a lamppost and start jumping to each one. Chat opts to stay on the ground and I snicker as he keeps yelling that I’m a cheater.

We reach the news tower all too soon for my liking and I flip off the lamppost and twirl around to face Chat and Ladybug.

“You’re a cheater!” Chat hisses and I just shrug my shoulders.

“Okay, you two.” Ladybug cuts in before anything else can be said. “She must be in there, so let’s be ready for anything.” Chat and I both nod, but as soon as she turns her back, I smirk at Chat, who sticks his tongue out at me in response.

Quickly entering the building, Chat stops and points to a cardboard cutout of one of the contestants from the weather show. “Hey, that girl reminds me of someone!”

Ladybug stares at the cutout and her eyes light up. “It’s her—“she looks up at the TV—“the Akuma must be in her parasol!” she states before rushing off.

Stopping at a pair of big, red doors, we try to push on them but to avail. Not saying anything, we all agree to kick down the door.

Charging in, we all slide to a stop and I stare at the TV recording. “It’s…” I trail off dumbly.

“A recording,” Ladybug finishes.

Before anyone could do anything, laughter comes from behind us and the Akumatized girl strikes the light above us with lightening. Not thinking, I scramble backwards and narrowly avoid being smashed by the large light.

Collecting my thoughts, I tense when the lights go out and leave us in darkness. It takes a second for my eyes to adjust, but, it turns out, rabbits don’t have great night vision. Even though I can see, it’s blurry and I have to squint to make anything out.

Almost not even worth it.

If all of us have to rely on my night vision, we may as well be stuck forever. Far enough away from Chat and Ladybug, the only real thing I can make out is the broken pieces of the light fixture. “Is—”

“Hey, frosty the snow girl’s getting away—oh, do I hear a damsel in distress?”

Of course Chat would be lucky enough to have _good_ night vision.

“Some of us don’t have night vision,” Ladybug quickly replies.

Hearing her so close makes me squint my eyes once again and I can almost make out her silhouette just out of my line of sight. Relieved to have found someone, I shuffle forward and reach out my hand to grab her arm, “hey, it’s—” just as I grab her she’s yanked forward causing my hand to slide down to hers.

“Woah!” she yelps out and, really not wanting to get separated, I tighten my grip on her hand while letting myself be pulled along.

“No need to bug out—” Chat’s probably real proud of that one— “just trust me!” With that, he starts yanking Ladybug, and by proxy me, through the halls and around corners.

Trying to make sense of my surroundings, Chat suddenly busts open a door and starts pulling us up the stairs. “Okay, that’s enough; I think I can manage to—”

Chat cuts Ladybug off and yells “duck!” and from what I _could_ see, she barely avoided to fire hydrant to the face. I barely manage to re-grab Ladybug’s hand before we’re being pulled up the stairs once again.

As soon as we bust outside, I immediately let go of Ladybug’s hand.

“You airheads!”

Glad for the distraction, I fully focus on the cackling girl.

“You fell right into my trap!” As soon as the words leave her mouth she seems to summon a huge tornado. “There’s no way out! Party’s over fools.”

Ladybug glares up at her “We’re just—” she stops and I turn and notice Chat, the naughty kitty, still has a hold of her hand. She yanks her hand from his and glares back up at the Akumatized girl. “We’re just getting started, Stormy!” She quickly throws her yoyo into the air and when she yells _lucky charm_ I’m ready to go.

...Except when she is gifted a bath towel. “A towel…that’s…great” I drawl out with a shrug.

Chat is a little less positive. “Great?  I mean we’re about to be obliterated, but at least we’ll be dry!”

“Just hold you’re whiskers and cottontail you two,” Ladybug sighs.

Stormy looks at us with a smile and points her umbrella up and says “hail.”

I don’t even bother looking up and just hunker down in front of Chat as he spins the large balls of ice away. Huddled up next to Ladybug, I cover my head with my hands to protect my face. “So either of you got a plan?” I shout over the sound of hail and glance up at Chat, “because I really doubt Chat can do this forever!”

“Says you!” Chat scoffs with his nose turned up before looking at Ladybug. “But a plan for getting that Akuma would be nice.”

Ladybug looks around quickly before smiling brightly. “Chat, see that sign over there? Check it out.” She points in front of her.

“Got it,” he replies happily before activating his Cataclysm.

"Lapin?” she turns to look at me and I nod. “I need you to distract her.”

Leaping up, I roll and shoulders and grin. “One distraction coming up!” Flipping onto the pipe behind me, I cup my hands around my mouth and take a deep breath. “Hey, weather girl wannabe—” now _that_ really got her attention— “I voted for the other girl!” As soon as the words leave my mouth, she sneers and a lightning bolt comes flashing down at me. Barely dodging it, another one was already zeroing in on me.

Activating my Miraculous, I’m filled with a burst of adrenaline and start moving as fast as I can. Dodging left and right, even throwing in some flips, I cackle loudly and keep leading her on a wild rabbit chase.

“Better watch it, bunny!” Chat yells and I quickly look over to see the giant billboard starting to fall and roll out of the way.

Watching from my spot on the ground, I watch as the girl gets yanked down by Ladybug. When her umbrella flies from her hands, Chat catches it as I dash forward and catch the girl in my arms.

She doesn’t even have time to struggle before Ladybug snaps her umbrella and cleanses the Akuma.

With the girl in my arms, I watch as the mass of ladybugs fly around and fix the previously destroyed town. Feeling the sun on my face, I notice the girl start to come to and place her on the ground. Turning to Ladybug and Chat, I notice them bumping fists and hear my miraculous bleeping wildly. Looking around wildly, I move to the ledge and map out a safe path down before jumping down.

Landing on the ground, I hop up with both hands up and grin in triumph. Not celebrating too long, I rush down the still empty street and eventually reach my Aunt’s flower shop.

Spotting the balcony that leads to my room I hop up and grab the ledge as I pull myself in. As soon as my hand touches the ground, I change back and turn around to lay flat on the floor. Letting Blann basically pass out on my chest, I stare up at the sky with a smile.

I helped another person today. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay! First chapter down, only a ton more to go! 
> 
> Now this is a little shaky since I haven’t written in a while, but I still hope you liked it. I’m hoping I’ll get more comfortable writing and it will get better. 
> 
> As you can sort of see, Chat’s and Evan’s relationship is more of a brotherly type (we might rub each other the wrong way, but we still care). I really like that kind of dynamic because it makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside.
> 
> You’ll also notice the complete 180 Evan did as Lapin. Completely intentional, I assure you. Long story short; rabbits are sometimes depicted as rebirth and, as Lapin; Evan can finally be free and not be afraid to have fun. He can laugh and joke and be as bold as he wants without any real worry of retaliation. If that makes any sense lol


	3. Mr. Pigeon

Half-listening as the principal explains the design project, I lean back against my chair and stare at the ceiling. As Mr. Damocles wraps up his presentation, the bell rings and I sigh to myself happily. I’m not a competitive person and certainly wasn’t interested in making a derby hat.

Not bothering to pack my things yet, I instead turn my gaze to Nino. It was routine at this point to leave after him so I wouldn’t risk bumping into him or Adrien after school. Truthfully, it was pathetic, but I couldn’t stand to look at Nino after what I did during my first week of school—though he never tried to approach me either. Waiting a little after they leave, I finally grab my things and head out the door.

Heading down the stairs, I spot a situation that doesn’t make me happy.

One of my classmates was struggling to pick up his scattered papers as Chloe walked away with a smug smirk. Frowning as he rushes to pick up his things, I bend down and grab some of the papers by my feet.

Walking towards him with his papers in hand, I stand over him and hesitate before bending down to help him. Gathering what I could, I remain silent and ignore his shaking hands as he tries to not look at me. 

Holding a stack of papers, I notice the detailed drawing on one and look over at him. “Here.” I offer them to him before standing.

He copies my motion and grips his notebook. “Thank you for your help…” he mumbles out and glances at me nervously before quickly walking away.

I stare after him before looking down and pushing away the sting of being so obviously avoided. Clenching my fist, I start heading towards my locker so I could leave.

Nearing my locker, I almost immediately notice Nino’s friend heading my way. With nowhere to hide, I breathe deeply and nervously look away from the blonde. Avoiding any chance of eye contact, I keep my eyes trained on my hands as I tug at my gloves and as soon as he passes me, I relax a little and run a hand through my hair.

Stepping into the locker room, I quickly head to my locker. As soon as I open it, Blann eagerly waves at me.

“Evan,” he whispers-yells, smiling at me happily. “You ready?”

I smile lightly at the cute behavior and nod my head as he quickly flies into my camera case.  

After filling my backpack and leaving the school, I sluggishly walk down the street and force myself to think about nothing. It works for a while, but I come to a halt when I remember that Madeleine had friends over for a group project and I didn’t want them knowing she had such a freak for a cousin. Sighing, I massage my shoulder and try to think of things I could do until they left. The park was closest and vitamin D might help with my melancholic mood.

So, with a destination in mind, I cross the street with a sigh.

Entering the park, I glance around before finding an empty bench. Sagging into it, I place my messenger bag next to me. All I wanted to do was hide away in my room and get today over with. Letting out another sigh, I stare up at the clear sky and close my eyes.

The sound of screams causes me to jolt awake and I rub my face, surprised that I fell asleep. Blinking my blurry eyes, I glance around before my gaze shoot to the sky and I watch in amazement as a plane shaped flock of birds fly above me.

Shaking myself back to reality, I stand and quickly run behind a nearby tree.

“Evan, did you see that?” Blann zips out of my camera case and grabs my nose. “Let’s go, let’s go!” he squeaks as he looks at me excitedly.

I nod in agreement and my mouth ghosts into a grin. “Okay, Blann, ears up!”

Following the flock of birds, I watch as they fly ahead to a distant building. Skidding to a stop, I balance on the edge of the roof and narrow my eyes to try and make out what exactly they were doing. 

Spotting Ladybug and Chat Noir stuck in a cage surrounded by pigeons, I quickly head in their direction and pull out my tonfas. Getting close enough for a good shot, I skid to a halt and throw one of them at the man controlling the birds.

Watching it soar through the air, it smacks him in the back of his head. Quickly catching the tonfa as it boomerangs back to me, I quickly duck behind the chimney.

He was _just_ too far away to see what facial expression he made, but I could only assume it wasn’t a happy one.

With him focused on finding me from his perch, Chat uses his cataclysm and frees himself and Ladybug. Mr. Pigeon quickly faces them once again and I use this to my advantage.

Rushing across the roof dividing me from them, I watch in shock as he falls back off the building, only to be caught by a flock of pigeons! The birds quickly form together and fly towards Chat and Ladybug. My eyes widen and I hop down from the building and rush into the hotel. Pushing open the doors, I rush in and skid to a halt when I spot Ladybug talking to the mayor.

“Ladybug!” I zoom over to her happily. “You’re okay! But...” I notice a distinct lack of a kitty, “where’s Chat?” I question as I glance around the hotel lobby.

Ladybug pats my shoulder and points towards the ceiling. “He’s probably waiting upstairs. So let’s go.” She heads to the elevator and I hop alongside her with my hands clasped behind my back.

As the elevator ascends, I lean against the wall and rub my eyes tiredly.

“Everything okay, Lapin?” Ladybug questions as she turns towards me with a concerned look.

I quickly stand up straight and grin at her. “Don’t let your cat hear that. He’ll be overcome with jealousy!” I snicker as she pinches the bridge of her nose with a sigh.

Before she can say anything back, the elevator dings and turns her attention away from me. As she steps into the room, she looks around. “We can get a much better view from up here.”

I nod silently as I follow behind her and stare at the large groups of pigeons flying around. Noticing they’re all going the same direction, I point towards them and turn to Ladybug. “Look, they’re all flying the same way.”

“Yeah, we better go follow them.” The sound of the elevator dinging makes me turn, and I grin when I see Chat.

He leans against the wall, smirk firmly in place. “Ready when you are.”

Ladybug quickly enters the elevator with me close behind. Before I could enter, Chat stops me with his arm. “I think this one is full, how about waiting for another one?” he asks with a grin and wiggles his brows at Ladybug.

She just moves Chat’s arms out of my way and sighs. “Let’s go.”

I happily step in the elevator and smirk at Chat, who pouts and crosses his arms. “So…” I trail off and look at them curiously. “It looked to me like those birds were going to—”

“They were,” Ladybug cuts off and grimaces at the memory.

Chat shudders and holds himself. “Yeah, talk about almost getting a birdbath.” I snort at his words while Ladybug looks at him in disgust.

The elevator slows before opening with a ding and we all rush out and leave the hotel.

Running across the rooftops, we eventually reach where the park keepers are being held. Ladybug peaks around the corner before speaking to us. “That’s where Mr. Pigeon keeps the park keepers he abducted.”

“The Grand Palais,” Chat states before tensing up, ready to sneeze.

Ladybug quickly covers his nose and I stare at him with narrowed eyes before my lips curl into a smirk. “Chat, you’re allergic to feathers?”

Chat crosses his arms with a glare. “Y-Yeah? So what?” he hisses out angrily.

With a grin still on my face, I put my hands on my hips and balance on my heels. “Nothing, nothing. It’s just…cute is all,” I state with laugh before winking at him. I’m pretty sure Chat blushes, but I won’t point it out _this_ time.

“Anyway, my pigeon radars on high alert,” he offers, glancing at Ladybug.

She pauses, “either your radar’s on the brink, or the park keepers are unattended.”

Chat marches forward. “Let’s set the cat among the pigeons!”

Ladybug stops him. “Hold on, kitty, it’s too easy.” She looks around and points to the roof. “I’ve got a plan.”

Climbing to the roof, Chat and I follow after her. “If we destroy that bird call, we’ll capture the Akuma,” she explains as we watch the Akumatized villain through the glass. “Chat, you open the window, I grab him, and Lapin can break the bird call.”

I pull out my tonfas with a nod. “Sounds good enough.”

“Yeah,” Chat agrees and bends down, “early bird gets the worm.”

As Chat opens the skylight, a feather must've strayed too close, because a loud sneeze breaks the silence and causes Ladybug to lose her footing, which causes her yoyo to smack me in the back of the head.

I rub my head and glare at her. “So much for surprising him!” I mutter and she gives me an apologetic look before jumping down.

Mr. Pigeon whirls around and uses his bird call to make a whole lot of birds fly to him. “Diddle-dee-dee, come closer—” the pigeons form into giant birds around his hands—“I have a bone to _peck_ with you!”

“I’d be honored,” Chat states and takes a step forward but is immediately thrown back.

Easily sidestepping him, I tut at him with a grin before turning back to Ladybug…only to have her crash into me.

Groaning, and a little out of breath, I push her off me and lean against the cage. Taking a glance at Chat, he smirks and wags his finger at me sarcastically. I look away from him and let him have the satisfaction of karma getting back at me.

Hearing Ladybug activate her Miraculous, I turn back and lean forward. Not able to see what’s in her hand, I hop up and look over her shoulder. “A coin?” I stare at it in confusion and tilt my head.

Ladybug also looks at it with furrowed brows. “What am I supposed to do with this?” she questions and starts to look around.

Mr. Pigeon advances on us before hurling his ball of birds at us. “You can’t buy yourself out of here.”

Ladybug quickly runs forward and slides underneath his feet and tangles his foot up with her yoyo. Chat and I watch as she leaps on the support beam and then rushes towards the vending machine. She grabs a bag of popcorn and launches it into the air. “Lapin!”

I quickly throw my tonfa at the bag, causing the popcorn land all over Mr. Pigeon.

He’s quickly overcome by birds and Ladybug hoists him in the air. “My bird call, no!” he yells loudly and reaches feebly for it.

“Chat Noir, grab it!” Ladybug shouts and Chat bends down to pick it up. Suddenly sneezing, he launches it into the air and Ladybug quickly lets go of the bird brain to grab it.

As soon as he hits the floor, he scrambles to get up and starts running after it, as Chat does the same.

Watching as the three of them leap towards the bird call yelling, they skid across the floor towards each other.

Hearing it break, I put away my weapons and relax as Mr. Pigeon let’s out one last desperate coo before fainting.

Ladybug quickly purifies the Akuma and fists-bumps Chat as I help the older man stand. Making sure he's okay on his own, I flash him a grin before leaving the Grand Palais.

Zipping across the rooftops, I land at the entrance of the park. I still had time before I had to change, so I could play with the kids for a bit.

Strolling into the park, I spot a small group of kids and bound over to them happily. “Hey!” I greet loudly and wave when they turn to face me, “I thought I’d come say hi to some of my favorite fans!”

The kids stare at me in awe before rushing to me with excited screams. They quickly surround me, and I chuckle as they give me energetic high-fives. “So…” I trail off and grin, “who wants to play tag?”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another one down lol  
> I picture Evan as a huge softy since he wants others to be happy. If that means playing with kids at the park for a while, so be it! As for Nino, he’s more than willing to avoid him and not risk being hated even more.  
> And who could possibly be the guy he helped in the hallway?  
> All joking aside, let me know what you thought!


	4. The Bubbler

Twirling my pencil, I rest my chin in my palm as I stare dully at the chalkboard. Time seemed to pass by slower and slower as my eyes slide closed. School was basically over and all I wanted to do was go back to Aunt Claire’s and laze around with Blann since she was closing early to take Madeleine to ballet class.

Peaking up at the clock, the bell rings and I watch as everyone starts to pack their things. A group of girls talk excitedly about a party for Adrien as they pass, but I ignore it because I already know I’m not invited.

With him now on my mind, I shift my gaze to sneakily watch him and Nino pack their things. Watching them as they leave the classroom I mentally count to ten before standing to leave.

I slowly amble down the sidewalk with my hands in my pockets. The shop isn’t too far from the school, so I arrive there quickly and without problem. As soon as I unlock the back entrance, Blann comes shooting out of my bag and up the stairs. Stepping in after him, I shut the door and head up to the second floor.

Opening the door that keeps the shop apart from the living space, Blann rushes past me and I head to the couch with a yawn. By the time I’m sitting comfortably, he flies to my side with a container of strawberries. Taking the spot beside me, he focuses all his attention to the TV show currently playing and I lean my head back and close my eyes.

_Scrubbing my hands roughly, I take a shaky breath and try to ignore the stinging pain. The black tar staining my skin makes me want to vomit and I just **want to get it off**. Noticing the wire scratcher sitting by the faucet, I quickly grab it and start to scrub at the disgusting filth. Tears stream down my face, but surely the throbbing pain meant it was working, right? Of course it would, because it had to! If it didn’t… if it didn’t I would— “Evan!” a voice screams my name but I ignore it because **I’m still filthy** and I had to get clean. Suddenly pulled away from the kitchen sink, I flail around and try to get away. Didn’t she see? The filth was spreading! Down my arms and all over the floor and, and—“Please calm down, Evan, its Aunt Claire!” the woman sobs out as she squeezes me tighter. Her touching me is making me sick, she’s just spreading the filth and it’s crawling up my arm and—_

I jerk awake with a scream stuck in my throat and quickly swallow it back down. Panting heavily, I lean forward and wipe away the sweat coating my forehead with a shaky hand. My eyes are drawn to my hand and I immediately rip off the glove expecting the worse. Only seeing the old scars littered across my hands, I almost sob in relief and squeeze my eyes shut. It was just a dream.

I take a calming breath before turning towards Blann who, to no real surprise, is dead asleep. Sinking back into the couch, I sigh tiredly and rub at my face. Listening to the mumbles of the turned down TV, I stare at the ceiling and try not to dwell on my nightmare. Feeling Blann stir beside me, I glance down at him and watch his ears stretch as he wakes.

Feeling my eyes on him, he looks up at me and smiles happily. “Hey, Evan!” he giggles out before flying over to me and sitting on my shoulder. “I hope you weren’t sitting here all bored waiting for me to wake up.”

I shake my head and offer a tiny smile, “I just woke up too.”

“That’s good.” He smiles and snuggles up against my cheek and I silently welcome the warmth. We sit in a comfortable silence and I start to slowly relax. One of the best things about Blann is that even though he likes to talk, he doesn’t have a problem being quiet.

Screams suddenly erupt from outside making me jump up and rush to the window. Yanking open the curtains, I watch, stunned, at the sight before me. What seems like hundreds of large bubbles float along the street, picking anyone up in their path and carrying them away. Blann presses his face against the glass beside me and stares, wide-eyed at the scene unfolding. “We have to go check it out! This has to be the work of an Akuma!” he squeaks hurriedly and stares at me hopefully.

Stepping back, I close the curtains and nod before looking at my bracelet. “Okay, Blann, ears up!”

Leaping from my balcony, I spot Ladybug running across the roof. “Ladybug!” I shout and easily catch up to her. “Do you mind if I join you?” I look over at her with a grin.

Ladybug nods her head and looks at the fireworks. “Let’s go get the Bubbler.”

Landing next to her, I silently observe the party going on beneath me. If you asked me what I thought the newest Akumatized villain was planning, I _definitely_ wouldn’t say a birthday party for Adrien Agreste. But I guess anything’s possible at this point if I really think about it.

Staring down the people, one thing I notice, beside the slow music Bubbler switched on, is how everyone is not, how should I say, having genuine fun. Observing the people slow dance, I hear Ladybug mutter “there is no way this is happening”.

I turn to her with a raised brow. “Wha—”

“Lucky charm!” she cuts me off with a shout and I watch in confusion as she pulls out a record and throws it at the DJ booth. The record bounces and lands perfectly before starting to play a more upbeat tune as the Bubbler starts to quickly look around.

Pulling Ladybug out of view, I look down at her in bewilderment. “What was that about?” I question.

Before she can respond, a bleep comes from her miraculous. Knowing she doesn’t have long, I drop the subject. “You better leave before you change back,” I step back and grin. “Don’t worry though, I’ll keep an eye on the place while you’re gone!”

She nods at me before flipping off the wall and disappearing. Turning my attention back to the Bubbler, I sweep through the crowd and notice one of the partygoer’s isn’t playing along anymore. Not dancing, he quickly catches the attention of the Bubbler and I pull out my tonfas and sneak closer, just in case.

The Bubbler walks up to the boy with a glare. “Hey, why aren’t you having fun?”

“None of your business," he scoffs out with crossed arms and a scowl.

I roll my eyes. That was a horrible answer!

Not liking his answer (no surprise) his glare worsens. “Then I’m gonna make it my business…” he states with a grin before pulling out his wand. The guy starts to panic and the Bubbler sends a large bubble his way.  

Deciding now to intervene, I leap down on the bubble. Jamming the blunted end of my tonfa in to it, it pops loudly and I flip behind the Bubbler.

He twirls around, a harsh glare on his face. “Why you gotta be like that?”

“Sorry, I guess my hand slipped.” I shrug my shoulders with a grin.

This doesn’t make him happy and he readies his wand with a scowl. “I’m gonna—”

Ladybug’s yoyo flies at the electrical cord. “Sorry, Bubbler, but the party’s over!” she states with a firm look. “You made all the adults disappear and now you’re imprisoning anyone who isn’t having fun.”

“You will not bust up my party!” he glowers before grabbing his wand and throwing bubbles at the two of us. I quickly dodge them as Ladybug jumps into the air and charges at him.

Chat finally appears and smirks. “Looks like I made it just in time!”

Dodging a bubble, I grin and keep my eyes on the Bubbler. “About time, Chat, I was beginning to worry!” I shout to him with a brief glance his way.

Chat pouts and looks up at me. “Whatever! I—”

The Bubbler suddenly sends tons of tiny bubbles their way.

As green bubbles suddenly start swarming us, I quickly try to pull them off. Unable to remove them, all of us are stuck in an almost indestructible bubble.

Forced close together, my legs tangle with Ladybug’s and Chat’s as I scramble to right myself.

“Give me your miraculous’ before you run out of air,” The Bubbler demands.

Ladybug, struggle to not slip, narrows her eyes at him and says, “Dream on, Bubbler.”

He just shakes his head. “Such party poopers—” he pulls out his wand once again—“just like adults.”

This seems to strike a nerve with Ladybug and she starts arguing with him. Though, I’ll be honest; I was only half listening because I was very aware of how Chat’s thigh was resting over mine. Staring down at it, I bite the inside of my cheek and clench my fist. It wasn’t _really_ uncomfortable, but it was different and made me feel little butterflies in my stomach.

“—the adults back!” Chat barks out and I jerk as I’m back to the present. Fighting down a blush, I look away and try to relax.

The Bubbler shakes his head again. “Nope, never!” he puts his hand on his hip, “You know what? Since you care about these adults so much, why don’t you go float with them for a while?” he suddenly smirks and charges at the bubble before kicking it up in the air. As we soar high in the sky, we all scream loudly and cling to each other.

Almost higher than the Eiffel tower, I tense and grab onto Chat and Ladybug. Watching Chat try to kick open the bubble, and idea seems to strike Ladybug. “Use your cataclysm!”

Chat shoves himself into a sitting position and looks at her. “Couldn’t you have said that five hundred feet ago?” he questions with a frown.

I lean forward to try and make myself more comfortable and look at Chat. “Well, we can’t stay stuck in this bubble forever.”

His response is to just look at Ladybug and wiggle his eyebrows with a smirk.

She just brings a hand up to her forehead with a sigh.

The moment the bubble pops, we’re sent hurdling down through the air. “Hey, Chat! Think you can land on your feet this time?” I yell out over the sound of rushing wind.

“I don’t know, bunny, but I’ll make sure to let you know if I do!” he shouts out sarcastically.

Ladybug shouts at Chat to throw his staff at a nook in the Eiffel tower, and to my surprise it sticks. Quickly throwing her yoyo around it, she grabs my hand and I grab Chat’s as we swing to the ground safely.

Dusting myself off, I hide my nerves with a grin. “That was some smart thinking, Ladybug!” I praise happily and give her thumbs up.

Chat doesn’t seem to like that and jumps in front of me and shouts, “yeah, that was great, my lady!”

“What’s the matter, Chat? Worried I’ll steal your Lady?” I snicker, smirking when he whirls around to glare at me.

Chat crosses his arms and smiles arrogantly. “As if you could take—”

“We don’t really have time for this, you two.” Ladybug sighs before a serious look crosses her face. “We need to get to his bubble sword. That’s got to be where the Akuma is!”

I nod in agreement and glance over at Chat as his miraculous bleeps. “Better hurry.” He starts running and turns back to us with a smirk, “I’ll race you!”

My eyes widen before I shoot off after him. Easily keeping pace with him and Ladybug, the mansion quickly comes into view and I speed up just enough to beat him.

Smirking as he glares at me, I follow Ladybug to the top of the gate. Standing next to Chat, I notice the party goers (or prisoners, I guess?) chanting for Ladybug.

Ladybug smirks down at the Bubbler. “Looks like no one wants to party with you anymore, Bubbler.”

Annoyed with the chanting, he whirls around and glares at the crowd. “What’s wrong with all you guys—” he stomps his foot—"why you gotta be such haters?” With a yell, he swings his bubble sword and encases the people below. “Outer space is the next stop for your precious peeps, and they’re never coming back!” he yells at us before jumping away.

The three of us quickly scramble after him and end up chasing him up the Eiffel tower. As soon as we land, Chat’s miraculous bleeps again. “I’m gonna switch back soon, hurry!”

Ladybug activates her lucky charm and catches a wrench with a confused look.

“Your plumbing skills gonna help us out?”

I laugh before barely dodging a bubble that explodes next to me and Chat. Without speaking, we take off in opposite directions and dodge the bubbles coming our way. Chat, of course, says something snarky, which causes the Bubbler to focus on him and basically ignore me.

Spotting Ladybug twist open an air vent, I rush to her side.

She looks at me then Chat. “You two cover me!” she shouts and we both leap over to grab the flailing pipe.

Chat and I manage to steady it and it easily blows away the bubbles thrown at us. As the Bubbler raises his sword Ladybug’s yoyo quickly flies towards it and grabs it out of his hands and breaks it.

Without wasting any time, she purifies the Akuma and everything goes back to normal, the Bubbler included.

Immediately recognizing Nino, I go stiff. He was the one Akumatized? My stomach coils at the thought and, being a true prey animal, I follow my instinct to turn tail and leave.

Ducking into an empty alley, I change back and cup Blann in my hands. Letting him gather his bearings, I slip him into my camera case and take a moment to myself. Tugging my gloves on better, I move towards the entrance of the alleyway and quickly slip onto the street. It was time to head back to Aunt Claire’s.  

        

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Evan is an empathetic guy and has a bit of a guilt complex, so he’s not too keen on being around Nino as of now.  
> But, on a lighter note, is that the blossoming of attraction I see?


	5. Timebreaker

Leaning against the kitchen counter, I watch as Aunt Claire fumbles with her purse. “I’m going to drop Madeleine off at her friend’s house on my way, so you’ll have the apartment to yourself until tomorrow,” She turns to me and furrows her brows. “I still have time to make you a little something, you know, for later—”

“Its fine, Aunt Claire,” I interrupt her, smiling awkwardly. “You’ll be late if you don’t leave now.”

Looking at her watch, she groans lightly. “You’re right,” she sighs out before quickly slipping on her shoes. “If you need _anything_ , don’t hesitate to call, okay?” her blue eyes look at me earnestly and, even though she’s fussing, I feel a little happy she actually cares that much for me.

I nod silently and Aunt Claire stares at me another moment before nodding her head as she looks away. Glancing at her watch again, she frowns and hurriedly rushes to the door. Following after her, Madeleine gives me a high five as she passes.

As soon as the door closes, I slump against the counter and rub the back of my neck with a sigh. Aunt Claire tries her best to be there _but not in the way_ at the same time. Though, at least compared to when she first took me in, she’s calmed down with the worrying and understands that I prefer being alone.

Caught up in my thoughts, I flinch when Blann lands on the top of my head. “Evan,” he squeaks happily as he nestles down in my hair, “what do you want to do today?”

Remaining silent as I shrug my shoulders, I take a deep breath and push away from the counter. “I was thinking of maybe heading to Trocadéro later and taking some pictures of the fountain,” I offer, shrugging half-heartily, “but, I don’t know…”

“That sounds great!” Blann cries out happily before looking at the fridge. “Can we eat first?”

I shrug again. “I guess. I don’t really care.”

“That’s great! We have strawberries, right?”

He doesn’t wait for an answer and instead zips to the fridge. Letting him get what he wants, I shuffle over to the couch and sit down. Not bothering with the TV, I slump down while stifling a yawn.

Blann flies out of the kitchen with a case full of strawberries and sits next to me. Not wasting any time, he starts eating them happily. “So, Evan...what do you think of Ladybug?”

I look down at him with a raised brow, not completely understanding the question. “She’s a great teammate and I respect how quick she’s able to come up with solutions,” I answer honestly, nodding my head.

He hums in thought, quickly swallowing another bite of strawberry. “So...what about Chat Noir...?”

My mouth twitches and I grin up at the ceiling. “I think he can be a bit of an _angeber_ —” right Blann didn’t speak German—“a bit of a show-off, but…” him sneezing pops into my head and I smile, “he’s cute when he sneezes.”

“I see,” Blann giggles as he stuffs another berry in his mouth.

Purposefully ignoring his giggling, I close my eyes and wait patiently for him to finish eating. After a couple of minutes, Blann shoot up and wipes his mouth with his tiny paw.

“I’m ready,” he squeaks, flying around my head excitedly before flying up to my room. It only takes him a moment before he comes whizzing back, this time with my camera case in his hands. Handing it to me, he slips into the pocket and looks up at me expectantly.

“Okay, let’s go I guess," I say, turning off the TV and heading down to the closed flower shop. Leaving through the back door, I double check it’s locked before leaving the alley. Seeing the crowds of people on the street, I tense and start making my way to the theater. It would take a bit longer to walk than take the bus, but I couldn’t stomach public transportation even on the best of days. Avoiding bumping into anyone, I take a calming breath and clench my fist as I force myself away from the apartment and towards Trocadéro.  

\-------------------

Looking through my pictures, I glance away and notice a group of my classmates at the other end of the fountain. Blann sticks his head out of my bag and follows my gaze before asking, “don’t you want to know what they’re doing?”

“Not really,” I answer honestly with a shrug and turn my gaze to the screen of my camera. “Prying will only lead to trouble anyway.”

“You’re not even curious about who Ladybug and Chat Noir are?”

“Nope,” I answer simply, turning off my camera. “We wear masks for a reason.”

Sudden screams make me flinch and quickly look away from my camera. Immediately spotting an Akumatized person rollerblading, I climb over the nearby wall and duck down. “Okay, Blann, ears up!”

Vaulting over the wall, I spot her chasing one of the girls on the other side of the fountain. Quickly gripping my tonfas, I falter when the rollerblading girl touches the fallen girl and makes her disappear. Noticing Chat come up behind her, I take a running leap and land on the other side. Popping up next to Ladybug, she shouts a warning about being touched as the other girl goes barreling towards Chat.

Quickly jumping over her, Chat stretches with a grin. “Missed me just a second too late.”

The rollerblader skids to a stop before turning her attention to a girl hiding behind the low wall. Chasing after her, she races down the hill and touches the dark haired girl before racing off.

Chasing after her, we eventually come to a stop. “Well she wastes no time, does she?” questions Chat.

“The more people she freezes, the more minutes she gets to go farther back in time,” Ladybug explains as she looks around at the frozen people.

My eyes widen. “Oh man, if we don’t get that Akuma, then all these guys are goners!” I exclaim before spotting the rollerblader as she advances towards another person trying to hide behind a small tree. “There she goes!” I yell and quickly rush towards her. Quickly swinging at her, she dodges and shoots past me.

Ladybug quickly throws her yoyo from behind me and grabs a hold of her wrist. “Keep your hands to yourself, Timebreaker!” she shouts with a satisfied grin.

Timebreaker just smirks before yanking hard on the string around her wrist, sending Ladybug flying forward. 

She crashes into me with a yelp and knocks the wind out of me. After a moment Ladybug sits up, straddling my back. Only able to push myself up on my elbows, I glare up at skater  before me as she reaches down to grab us.

Instinctively closing my eyes, I jump when I feel another weight on my back. “What the—”

“Chat Noir, no!” Ladybug screams as my eyes shoot open.

Struggling to get out from under her, I manage to sit up and stare in shock at the frozen Chat before me. “Chat?” I whisper quietly as I move to see his face. “This can’t be happening…” I move to touch his cheek, but Ladybug grabs my arm and yanks me backwards. “Hey! Why—” I notice that she has her yoyo wrapped around Timebreaker’s waist and quickly twist around to properly hold onto her.

TImebreaker must be stronger than she looks, because she easily drags me and Ladybug around Trocadéro with no problem. I notice sparks form around her as she speeds up so I reach forward and wrap my arms around a screaming Ladybug. This would probably hurt…

A tingly feeling passes over me for a moment before Ladybug and I are launched through the air. Quickly opening my eyes, I barely have enough time to right myself before I manage to shakily land on my feet with Ladybug in my arms. Setting her down gently, I look around in confusion.

“Wh-What just happened?” Ladybug asks with a puzzled look before hearing cheering and looking over the brick railing. “We’ve gone back in time, haven’t we?” she questions, looking around in awe.

Stepping up beside her, I watch the crowd curiously. “What even happened to cause her to be Akumatized?” I wonder out loud, glancing at Ladybug.

“It was her—” her eyes widen and she shouts down at the crowd loudly, “Chloe, put the watch down!”

Timebreaker then leaps from the building, causing Chloe to drop a silver pocket watch as the skater freaks out. “Ladybug, this time it’s your fault!” she shouts and points at us angrily.

“Everyone, get out of here! Don’t let her touch you!” Ladybug shouts, making everyone run.

“I’ll try to distract her.” I glance at Ladybug before stepping off the building and landing behind Timebreaker. “Hello, hello!” I great cheerfully with a grin as she whirls around to face me. “I gotta say, it was quite a ride you took us on...oh” My grin falters when I notice another Timebreaker kneeling on the floor.

They both sneer at me before quickly charging my way. Barely dodging their outstretched hands, I dash away and turn to them with a smirk. “Have to be a little faster, girls!” I egg them on and snigger at the angry looks on their faces.

Without warning, they rush at me and I get ready to jump out of the way before something whizzes past me and causes them to trip over each other. Recognizing the familiar wooden tonfa, I look behind me and spot…me.

“Who are you?” he (me?) demands with narrowed eyes and a tense posture.

I point to myself with a light chuckle. “Me? I’m you, just…about five minutes older.”

His shoulders remain tense and he looks at me with pursed lips. “Oh yeah? Well prove it.”

I pause and think for a moment before grimacing and turning red at what I remember. “Uh…I—I mean you—have a poster of Adrie—”

“Alright,” he shouts as he covers his face to hide his reddening cheeks. "I believe you!"

Feeling more embarrassed at seeing myself so embarrassed, my cheeks burn and I cover my eyes and look away.

Spotting the skaters getting up and charging towards me, I shove my humiliation down and look at my counterpart. “Want to lead them around?” I ask with a smirk. I—he grins back and nods. “Alright! I take one, you take the other!”

Leading them around by the nose is fun, until they start chasing the innocent bystanders for more power. Spotting Ladybug and _Chat_ , I momentarily forget about Timebreaker and rush to him.

“Chat!” I yell happily, throwing my arms around him. “You’re okay!” I lean on his back with my arms around his shoulders, smiling blissfully.

Chat struggle to break free while glaring at me. “Of course I am!” he hisses as he tugs on my forearms.

“Here they come!” Ladybug shouts.

Releasing Chat, I clench my fist and tense in preparation of fighting them. But before they could reach us, a yoyo flies down and knocks them off their feet. Looking up at the roof, I spot past me and Ladybug.

“Hey you guys, need a hand?” She looks at us with a smile before the two jump down to us.

Chat looks between them wildly and starts to grin.

“They’re insane on their rollerblades” she starts.

“Unstoppable on the ground,” Ladybug picks up.

“But…what if they’re _not_ on the ground?” Past Ladybug offers with a raised brow.

Chat looks to be in paradise. “Two Ladybugs? I’m in heaven,” He sighs out, bringing his hands to his chest with a thankful smile. 

Seeing both Ladybugs give him an exasperated look, past me and I both let out a loud snicker.

Chat quickly glares at me before noticing the other me and lets out a dramatic groan. “Or more like _purr_ gatory.”

Noticing the skaters head the other way, both Ladybugs say, “They’re planning to go back in time again!”

They both activate their Lucky Charm and I don’t bother questioning the odd items they hold.

“Come on Chat,” past me and I say in unison as we run ahead, “we can buy them some time.”

Chat follows close behind us before leaping forward and using his Cataclysm on the carved stone in front of them. Watching the two make a 180, we let them pass before chasing after them. Spotting Ladybug standing ahead of me, I trust she knows what she’s doing and run just fast enough to urge them forward.

Just as they’re about to touch her, she flips out of the way and ties their legs together. Spotting the other Ladybug using her cone to make a ramp, I watch as the two Timebreakers fly into the air. Both Ladybugs quickly fling their yoyos at the airborne girls and grab their skates.

Now that the fighting’s over, past me turns towards me with a curios look and says “I saw how I…or you…or whatever—” he furrows his brows—“was able to touch Chat so easily…” he trails off before he smiles widely. “I think—” before he can finish, he disappears in a cloud of ladybugs and I stare at the now empty spot in frustration.

Think what, exactly? And on that note, was I actually me, me? Or was I only remembering what happened in the future because it happened to not me, but still me? Maybe I was neither, and became some other version on me because two different versions of me met and experienced two completely different things? Sighing at the bizarreness of it all, I brush aside the way too complex thoughts and look at my surroundings.  

Spotting the silver pocket watch on the ground, I watch Ladybug pick it up. Turning my attention to the sitting girl, I stroll over to her. “Here—” I offer her my hand and pull her up—“are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’ll be fine,” she answers as she brushes herself off.

Seeing Ladybug draw near, I smile and wink at the pink haired girl before jumping onto the roof.

Glancing back down, I see Ladybug hand her the pocket watch before I turn my eyes to Chat. I was relieved that he was okay, but I can’t help but remember what he looked like frozen. Shaking my head, I clench my fist because I wasn’t about to dwell on negative thoughts the only time I could really be someone else. Suddenly feeling _not_ like normally peppy Lapin, I turn away and start making my way back home.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting to flesh out Evan a little more each chapter, so let me know how I'm doing so far writing wise!


	6. Copycat

Listening to Madeleine as she eagerly talks about the statue unveiling, I smile lightly and cross my arms as I lean on the table. “I really, _really_ hope Ladybug will like my picture I made!” she bounces excitedly in her seat and grins cheerfully.

“I’m sure she’ll love it,” Aunt Claire states with a smile.

Madeleine’s cheeks redden and she giggles as she looks at her drawing happily. “You really think so?”

“Positive.” Aunt Claire glances at the clock. “Although we better hurry if you want to meet up with your friends, Maddie.”

Hearing that, Madeleine turns to me with wide eyes. “Are you sure you don’t want to come, Evan?” She clasps her hands together and sticks her bottom lip out. “My friends really want to meet you!”

My smile fades and I shake my head. “I’m—”

“Tanya’s older sister is coming too!” she shifts closer and stares up at me hopefully.

“Madeleine…” Aunt Claire warns.

“She’s super nice and—”

“What did I say?”

Madeleine ignores her and keeps staring at me. “You don’t have any friends so—”

I flinch at her remark and look away with a frown. I was told the same thing when I was younger.

Aunt Claire stands up and quickly snaps out, “Madeleine, enough!”

On impulse, I tense in my seat at the yelling and stare down at my lap as my thoughts race. Even though I know Aunt Claire is nothing like… _her…_ I can’t stop the little voice in my head that says _what if?_ The silence goes on for what feels like an eternity before Aunt Claire decides to speak up.

“I’m sorry for raising my voice—” I relax a little and loosen my clenched fists, but still refuse to look at her— “if you want to go to the unveiling, you better get your coat on now, Madeleine.”

Hearing Madeleine’s seat scoot against the wooden floor, I watch her shoes pass by out of the corner of my eye.

Aunt Claire lets out a sigh. “I really am sorry for yelling like that, Evan,” she starts and I glance up and see her frowning. “I’ll talk to her about pestering you like that later—”

“Its fine,” I cut her off and smile sadly, “If I was…you know,” I shrug halfheartedly, “normal, it wouldn’t be such a problem…” I trail off and tug at my gloves.

“Evan, that’s not…”

Madeleine skips to her mom and tugs at her arm impatiently. “Come on, Mom! We’ll be late!”

Glancing at Aunt Claire, I see her hesitating and quickly force a smile. “You better go.” I stand and look at her. “Madeleine’s been looking forward to this all day.”

She looks me over and furrows her brows as she nods slowly. “Okay, if that’s what you really want…” she trails off and stares at me for another moment before heading to the open door. Turning back to me, she says, “We’ll be back soon.”

Nodding lightly, as soon as she shuts the door I slump into the chair with a sigh. I really didn’t blame Madeleine for trying to help me make friends, but, as much as the truth hurt, I’ve never had any and wouldn’t know the first thing to do with them.

Rubbing my cheek, I stare blankly at the table. If it was possible, I’d just stay as Lapin for the rest of my life, because it was easier to be someone powerful, than someone useless. I wasn’t even strong enough to…

Realizing I was spiraling into another depressive episode, I force myself to stand and quickly head up to my room.

As soon as I open the door, Blann zooms to me and smiles joyfully. Clapping his hands with a giggle, he twirls around. “I’m so excited for the unveiling today,” he squeaks, giggling again. “I’m sure you’ll look great up there!” his eyes seem to sparkle and he grins largely.

Feeling better, I smile softly and hold out my hand. “I guess we should check it out then.”

Transforming, I step onto my balcony and hop up on the roof. Quickly running across the rooftops, I jump to the buildings across the streets that are closer to the park. Easily spotting the covered statue surrounded by a large crowd, I leap in the air and land next to it with a grin.

The crowd immediately starts cheering when they see me and I wave to them energetically with a smile. Spotting some kids wearing bunny headbands, I grin and point to my own ears and say, “Looks like we match!”

They light up and tug on the each other and their parents excitedly. After a moment, one of the parents nervously steps forward and hands me a piece of paper. “Hello, Lapin Blanc,” she greets and bites her lip, “my daughter and her friends made a hero fan club…” my eyes widen at her statement, “and they’d really like to take some pictures with you, if that’s okay?”

“Of course it is!” I state enthusiastically with a large grin. The woman relaxes and smiles thankfully before turning back to the small group. As soon as she tells the kids it’s okay, they stumble over themselves to get to me.

High-fives quickly go around as they try to speak over themselves loudly. Laughing at their excitement, I let the parents step in and take control. 

After a bunch of pictures, the mayor steps in to ruin the fun. Waving one last time to them, I turn to the mayor with a grin. “Good Afternoon, Mr. Mayor,” I greet cheerfully.

He nods at me before looking around. “Do you know where Ladybug and Chat Noir are?”

“I don’t know actually. I’m usually the last to arrive,” I state with a shrug as I balance on my heels. Spotting Chat in the distance, I smile happily and wait for him to arrive.

“Hey, everybody!” he greets with a wave as the crowd cheers.

Calling out to him with a grin, I wave and say, “Late to your own party? Tsk, tsk.” I wag my finger at him as he turns to me with a pout.

“Hey, I’m only a little late,” he states before smirking cockily, “besides, you can’t rush _purrfection_.”

Laughing at his snarky words, I cross my arms and lean against the statue in front of him as the statue creator looks at us worriedly.

“Excuse me, but Ladybug’s not here…”

“Don’t worry about Ladybug, I’m sure she’ll be here any minute,” Chat sits and puts one of his legs on my shoulder, “I can handle it for now.”

I turn to look at him with raised brows, only to smack into the bottom of his boot.

“I’m the one in charge anyway, you know?” he finishes and flashes me a victorious smirk.

The other guy scratches his cheek and looks away. “It’s just that I wanted to ask her to sign this photo…”

Rubbing my sore cheek, I narrow my eyes at Chat.

“She’s amazing—”

Seeing his arm supporting most of his upper body weight, I smirk and reach forward.

“She’s so brave and smart, the way she saves everyone…”

Quickly knocking it out from under him, he tumbles sideways and barely manages to stop himself from falling. Sending me a rather ferocious glare, I give him a satisfied smirk and wink.

Before he can retaliate, the mayor sighs. “Perhaps we should commence. It might bring her here faster.”

The sculptor turns to face the mayor. “Please, just one minute more, Mayor Bourgeois. She’s going to come, I can feel it,” he says before looking away hopefully.

The mayor returns to scanning the horizon and Chat hops down from the statue to properly glare at me. Opening his mouth, he’s cut off by someone shouting about wanting pictures of us for her blog.

Twisting around to face the crowd, he grins and says, “Anything for the adoring public!” he say, throwing his arm around my shoulder.

My heart flutters as I tense at the weird warm feeling coming from him touching me. Not quite sure of what I’m feeling, I try to ignore it and wrap my arm around him with a grin. For some reason my heart skips a beat, but I pay it no mind. Though luckily, before I can make a fool of myself, the mayor steps forward and decides now is the time to start the ceremony.

“It’s only proper for Paris to pay honor to those who protect us from evil,” he starts before moving to the side as the cover over the statue is removed, “Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Lapin!”

Not really focused on the statue anymore, I look at it anyway, and have to admit, it was really good. Chat and I were facing each other, hands locked together, as Ladybug used our hands to leap into the air.

A smile tugs at the corner of my mouth as the earlier weird feeling takes ahold of my heart. Suddenly feeling a little jittery, I quickly push the feeling down as I wave and get ready for more photos.

Later, as I watch everyone leave, I wave goodbye to my little fan club before quickly leaving the park and heading back to my aunt’s house. I didn’t have time to say goodbye to Chat since I wasn’t quite sure when my aunt and cousin were leaving the unveiling.

So, juggling the pictures some of the kids gave me, I hop to a nearby roof and quickly jump to my balcony.

Blann quickly flies out of my bracelet and immediately goes to further inspect the drawings in my hands.

Letting him coo over them, I open the glass door and shuffle over to the couch. Sitting on the floor, I spread out the pictures on the cushions so he can look at them better.

Leaning back, I stare up at the ceiling and absentmindedly touch my shoulder where Chat’s hand was.

“These are really cute!” Blann squeaks happily.

Looking down at him, I push away my musings with a light smile and say, “They are, aren’t they?”   

\-------------------------------

Leaning against the balcony railing, I blankly stare out at the rest of the city. It was still a little awkward with Aunt Claire and Madeleine, so I was doing my best to avoid them.

“They’re not going to hate because you didn’t want to do something,” Blann states from on top of my head.

Sighing, I lean more against the railing and shoo him off. “I know, but…” I trail off and ruffle my hair, “what if they do?”

The small Kwami floats to the front of my face and puts his tiny paw on my nose. “It’ll be okay, Evan.” He smiles kindly at me before sitting next to my face.

Furrowing my brows, I look away and bite my lip. I felt a little better, but it was habit to just hide away after any sort of argument. It was either hide or…

Touching the scar above my eyebrow, I jerk my hand away as I spot something at the skyline. “Is that Chat?” I wonder in surprise and point to a distant rooftop.

Focusing on where I was pointing, his eyes widen. “Why would he be out now? I don’t think there’s any Akumas…”

I tap my finger against the railing and watch for a moment longer before standing upright. “Should we say hello?” I question, looking at Blann. Watching as he nods happily, I glance around to make sure I’m in the clear. “Okay, Blann, ears up.”

Quickly jumping to the rooftop, I scan the horizon and make out Chat running in the distance. Seeing he’s heading my way, I duck behind the chimney and wait for him to pass.

Hearing him near, I jump in his path and cause him to trip over himself in an attempt to stop. “Heya, Chat!” I lean over his prone body with a grin. “Whatcha doin’?"

He quickly scrambles up and shoves something behind his back. “Nothing,” he states flippantly with a shrug, “just thought I’d take an afternoon stroll. So I should be on my way…” He tries to pass by me, but I block him with my arm.

“Are you okay?” I question as I give him a once over, “You seem—”

“Me? I’m _purrfectly_ fine!” he waves me off and once again tries to leave.

“Are you really sure?” I press as I step in front of him with a frown, “I don’t—”

“Will you just leave me alone?” he cuts me off and glares. “You’re annoying. I’ve got things to do and they don’t involve you.” He roughly shoves past me and jumps away.

Hurt zaps through me and I sag against the wall as my thoughts race.  I thought we were friends? I didn’t—did he always think of me that way? Was I really that annoying? Did Ladybug feel the same way? Did they both actually...“Hate me?” I whisper before sliding to the floor in a daze.

A bleeping sound pulls me back to reality and I numbly pull out a tonfa. Clicking the call button, Ladybug’s concerned face greets me.

“Lapin! I need you to meet me here—” a GPS location appears—“as soon as you can! Hurry!”

As she ends the call, I stare at the map and, for once in my life as Lapin, hesitate if I should go.

Almost as if I can hear Blann telling me it’ll be alright, I take a deep breath and stand up. It may hurt, but something wasn’t right with how he was acting.  So, glancing back at the map, I rush towards the location.

Seeing Ladybug observing a warehouse from the roof, I land beside her and nod.

“You’re here, good. Let’s hurry.” She leaps from the roof and I follow. Entering the building, we both come to a stop in front of Chat….on top of another Chat?

“Chat Noir, he really looks like you,” Ladybug says as she looks between the two.

The bottom Chat speaks up, “That’s because I am me!”

This situation didn’t really sit well, but I keep my mouth shut as Ladybug speaks. “Where’s his Akuma?”

“Inside his ring of course.” The top Chat grins and offers the other’s hand to her. “Grab it.” 

Watching Ladybug reach for the ring, it let out a beep as one of the paw pads disappears. “He even has the same powers as you.” She glances at Chat and then me.

Feeling something not right, I lean towards her. “Ladybug, I think we should—”

“Amazing, isn’t it?” Chat cuts me off and glares at me before smiling at Ladybug. Furrowing my brows, I notice the way he glared at me felt different than usual.

Looking down at the Chat on the ground, I see him glancing quickly between Ladybug and me. “If you don’t believe I’m the real Chat Noir, ask him about our love for each other.”

Ladybug looks over to me uneasily.

“Have I ever lied to you, Bugaboo?” he adds with a wink.

She nods lightly and leans towards the other Chat and says, “I hope you didn’t tell him about us.”

My chest clenches as my eyes widen. Chat and Ladybug were...? But they never told me...?

“W-what?” he stumbles over his words.

“That we’re…you know….” She pokes his nose and the pain my chest jolts again. “We made a secret promise.”

“Yes…of course!”

Looking away from the two Chats, I look at the ground with a frown. Why did I feel this way?

“We never made a promise—” she leaps back and points at him dramatically—“Copycat!”

I jump and quickly look back up in surprise. So they weren't...of course! It obviously was a trick.

The weight on my shoulders vanishes and a smile pulls at the corner of my lips as Copycat starts ranting. “I love you, Ladybug! I’m way better than this mangy alley cat!”

“Sorry, liars are losers.” She shrugs with a smile. “Chat Noir may annoy me to pieces, but he’s never lied to me.”

“Thanks for the compliment…I think.” Chat says before kicking off the fake Chat.

Landing on his feet, Copycat glares at us. “If I can’t have you…than nobody will! Cataclysm!”

Gripping my tonfas tightly, I move in front of Chat as Ladybug activates her lucky charm. Keeping my eyes on Copycat, I hear her say it’s a spoon but I don’t turn away from him. I was one hundred percent sure that he was the one I spoke to on the roof, and I was equal parts relieved and angry.

Copycat quickly charges at me and I make a split decision and grab Chat’s chain. Using it to block the Cataclysm, it quickly crumbles and breaks apart and Ladybug wastes no time and knocks him back.

“Quick thinking, Lapin,” she praises and smiles at me.

“Just did something you would’ve done.” I grin at her and spin my tonfas as I look back at the fake Chat.

“Where’s his Akuma?” Ladybug questions Chat.

“Photo in his pocket. Let’s make it snappy.”

Chuckling comes from the dust and Copycat steps from it and says, “You’re going to change back before me.” He then grins and does some fancy twirling with the staffs in his hands.

Chat rushes towards him and the two starts to fight. Clenching my tonfas, I dodge Chat as he flies back at us.

Seeing an opportunity, Ladybug jumps in the air and throws her yoyo at Copycat.

Seeing him deflect it, I rush him and pull back my arm for a clean hit to his face. Looking directly at him, I hesitate because he looks so much like Chat, and I’d never want to hurt him.

He had no problem hurting me though, as he quickly smacks me across the face with his staff.

Flinching at the sting on pain, I swing at him again before he kicks me away. Holding my jaw, I glance over and see Ladybug once again fighting him.

Taking a moment to gather my bearings, because it’s definitely been a while since I’ve been hit that hard, I look back and see Copycat distracted by Ladybug and quickly grab one of the staffs. Throwing it to Chat, I awkwardly watch the two of them go at it.

Before things can get too out of control, Ladybug wraps her yoyo around one of their wrists.

“Hey, it’s me!” one shouts.

“He’s lying. I’m the real one!” the other one quickly says.

Ladybug looks both of them and stomps her foot with a groan. “Now you’re both annoying me to pieces. Show me your ring. How many pads do you have left?” When one of them raises his hand, Ladybug releases his wrist.

“Get him, Chat!” I yell from the sidelines with a grin.

Chat smirks and says, “Gladly. I love a good cat fight!” before charging at the copycat.

Ladybug looks around before turning to me excitably. “Help me make a fishing rod.”

With a quick nod, I start ripping some tape as she holds a long rod.

Tapping it all together, she holds the makeshift fishing rod with a smile.  “Time to go Akuma fishing,” she states and quickly throws the line over the support beam and hooks Copycat’s belt.

Handing me the rod, I pull it down as the fake Chat goes flying upwards. Quickly jumping up and looping the string around the support beam, I grab the photo from his pocket and let it float down to the ground.

Ladybug quickly tears it apart before purifying the Akuma.

As the sting in my jaw disappears, I turn to Chat with a grin before looking away awkwardly. It may have been a fake Chat that said I was annoying, but it still stung. A big part of me wanted to run away and bury my insecurities, but I couldn’t go on without knowing how Chat really felt. So, taking a deep breath, I look back at him. “Um, do you—”

“Is your face okay?” Ladybug asks as she puts away her yoyo. “You got hit pretty hard back there.”

My eyes widen and I rub the side of my face. “I’m fine. It probably looked worse than it felt.”

Chat looks at me for a moment before shrugging. “I guess he wasn’t as strong as the original.”

Seeing his carefree smirk, my worries seemingly melt away and I chuckle. “I don’t know, he was supposed to be an exact copy…” I trail off with a grin.

Chat crosses his arms. “I bet I could beat you at arm wrestling any day,” he states smugly before his ring bleeps. “I have to go,” he turns to Ladybug, “better help this fellow out. His crush just got crushed.” He winks before running off to change.

“I’ll follow his lead and let you handle this, Ladybug. Try not to crush him too bad.” I grin at her before heading to the exit. If I talked to that fake Chat I’d end up punching him.

Speeding across the rooftops, I reach the flower shop and land on the balcony as I change back. Stretching my back, Blann flies out of my bracelet and quickly turns to me.

“Are you okay? What that jerky fake Chat said…” he trails off and looks at me sadly.

I smile at him and rub my neck. “I think it’ll be okay,” I reply honestly and look at the sky. I’d know if Chat hated me by now.

…right?

Shaking my head, I ruffle my messy hair and sigh with an exasperated smile. In the end, hated or not, I still really cared for the two of them.

_And nothing was going to change that._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was good and everyone enjoyed it! I feel like I'm improving (at least a tiny bit) and fleshing everything out a little better.


	7. The Pharaoh

Entering Lacroix Studios, I nod at the receptionist and quickly make my through the studio to the photography room. Mr. Lacroix called Aunt Claire’s house to see if I was available for an unscheduled photo shoot and insinuated that I should invest in a cellphone. I still don’t see the point; I memorized the studio’s number when Mr. Lacroix took me an unofficial assistant and didn’t have any friends to call so it would be a waste.

I pass through the lounge area, then the prop room before reaching the studio doors. Slowly opening it, I walk in and spot Mr. Lacroix talking to whom, I assume, is today’s model.

He waves me over and gestures towards the girl. “You’ll be photographing her today.”

I tense and look at him in confusion. “Me? But, sir—”

“Everything’s already set up,” he cuts me off and narrows his eyes. “So show me what you can do.”

I clench my hand and silently nod my head. The model takes her spot on in front of the lights and I raise my camera and look at her through it. “Okay, I want you to…”

Time seems to fly as I lose myself in my work. It was nerve wracking having Mr. Lacroix watching my every move, but taking photos was a form of therapy for me.

Focusing the camera lens, I zoom in slightly and focus on the model’s face.

Snapping my last photo, I lean back and roll my shoulders with a sigh. “You did a good job—” I look over at the model with a stiff smile— “thank you.” I then start clicking through the pictures and take notes of the ones I actually like, but don’t delete any of them.

She just nods and stands as her manager goes to speak to her.

“Let me see.” I tense and look away from the camera to Mr. Lacroix and silently hand my camera to him.

He remains silent as he goes through the photos and my stomach twists nervously. Narrowing his eyes, he looks a moment longer before handing my camera back to me. “Now I want you to go to the museum and take some pictures of the artifacts there,” he orders before turning and walking away.

Not quite sure what to think, I bite the inside of my cheek and slip my camera into its case.

“Don’t worry about that old fuddy-duddy, kid,” one of the other photographers, Mr. Laurent, speaks up while setting up for the next photoset. “He just doesn’t know how to properly communicate with someone—especially a kid like you.” Before he could say more, someone calls for him and he bids me goodbye with a wave.

Furrowing my brows, I only take a moment to digest his words before heading to the door.

As soon as I exit the photography building, I tense at all the people walking up and down the street. Kneading my shoulder, I take a deep breath and start heading towards the museum with a clenched hand tightened on the strap of my bag. At least the street isn’t as crowded as it could be.

The museum was a bit far, but taking the bus was not something I could stomach. Just thinking about being forced in close proximity with strangers made my skin crawl and stomach churn. Prying my mind away from those kinds of thoughts, I clench my fists and quicken my pace.

Nearing the museum, I hear panicked screams and quickly round the corner. I freeze mid-step at the sight of dozens of mummies stalking about and sweep my gaze to the person I assume is controlling them. Seeing a girl in his grasp, I duck back around the corner and Blann flies out of my backpack and zips around with wide eyes.

“Are those _real_ mummies?” he squeaks out and peaks out around the corner.

I nod and say, “Looks like it.”

He flies back to me with wide eyes. “Well, let’s go!” he demands with a whine.

“Yeah, we should—” two mummies turn the corner— “hide, _now._ ” I hiss out and he quickly buries himself back into my case without a word as the mummies grab me.

Struggling to break free, I manage to rip my arm away and make a split second decision to throw my camera case under a car.

The mummies quickly drag me to the Pharaoh and toss me at his feet and I bite back a groan as my knees slam into the ground. This _really_ wasn’t how I planned on any of this going.

Clenching my fists, I stand and glare at large man in front of me. He stares down at me before grabbing my throat and lifting me off the ground. “You’ll make an excellent additional sacrifice,” he states before releasing me and I fall to the ground once again.

Landing on my butt, I wince and touch my throat with a pained frown. This was just like—

My heart starts to race and I take a shuddering breath. Now was the worst time for this to happen. I didn’t have time for this. Why couldn’t I be normal? Why did I have to be such a freak? Why, why, why!? Vaguely hear a voice calling to me, I blink slowly and stare at the ground in a daze. This was why, wasn’t it? The reason she hated me so much. What if Blann hated me too? What if no one liked me? I was pathetic. I wouldn’t like me. I should just—

“Are you okay, Evan?” an unrecognizable voice cuts through my thoughts and I jerk forward with a gasp. Panting, I clutch my chest and scrub my eyes. Blinking away the haze, I look up and see Alya.

“Are you okay?” she asks again with a worried frown.

Shame floods me as I turn away. “I—” I clear my throat and frown—“I’m fine.”

“What happened? You totally spaced there for a bit.”

Impossible for me to be any tenser, I can’t bring myself to look at her. “Nothing. Nothing happened.”

“I think—”

I glare at her out of the corner of my eye. “Don’t,” I state firmly before sighing and rubbing my face. “Please…”

She moves to touch my shoulder and I flinch away from her without thinking. Feeling frustrated with myself, I run a hand through my hair and sigh angrily.

“Uh…” she trails off awkwardly before fishing her phone out of her pocket and grinning, “This’ll be a major scoop, don’t you think?”

I’ll take the obvious change in subject and give her a nod.

Her eyes light up as she stands and turns to the Pharaoh. “Excuse me, Pharaoh—” he glances down at her—“but, uh, what exactly is going on here?”

“I’m going to carry out the sacred spell to bring Nefertiti back.”

“Oh…gotcha. You mean the spell on the papyrus, right?”

“Correct,” he states and I look up from my spot on the ground, “The 100 mummies and the offering.”

 _Offering?_ Alya glances at with a confused look and says “What offering?”

The Pharaoh throws his arms up. “To persuade the sun god Ra to give me back my sweet princess. I must give him something in return—” he looks down at her— “a pure soul.”

“Dude, that’s hard to come by,” Alya says and I could already tell where this was going. Standing up, I clench my fists and move my arm in front of her with a glare.

He stares down at us and says, “I’ve already found her.” Leaning forward, he moves to touch her but I knock his hand away with a sneer. I couldn’t do much, but I wouldn’t let him touch her as he pleased. The Pharaoh stares at me briefly before turning his attention back to Alya. “You look so much like her,” he states before turning to the scroll.

Following his gaze, both of our eyes widen when we spot the figure on the papyrus. “Say what?” Alya exclaims worriedly. He just cackles and turns away.

I bite the inside of my cheek as my mind starts racing with possible solutions. I was useless as normal me. Even as Lapin I wasn’t clever like Ladybug or Chat, but…maybe I could create a distraction for us to get away? By the looks of things, I didn’t have long so I had to something now.

“Run as soon as I grab him,” I whisper to Alya before quickly jumping on his back. Wrapping my arms around Pharaoh’s neck and covering his eyes, I shout at Alya, “Now!”

Keeping a tight grip as he tries to grab me, I squeeze my eyes close and hope for the best. Hopefully Alya can get away and hide somewhere safe until Ladybug and Chat arrived. As he tries to fling me off, I tighten my grip and try my best to ignore the uncomfortable sensation on my skin.

Too quickly for my liking, he manages to grab my shirt and flings me off roughly. Slamming onto the pavement, I skid to a stop and feel a little light-headed. Suddenly a fiery pain shoots from the side of my face and arms and I flinch with a low hiss. Immediately grabbed by the back of my shirt, I’m pulled back to the front of the museum. Looking over, I see Alya in the Pharaoh’s grasp as well.

She struggles to get away before pulling out her phone and saying, “Ladybug, this is Alya. I just found out that I’m the sacrificial offering for the Sun God—” she glances at me with wide eyes— “Please _hurry_.” She turns the phone off and turns back to me with an anxious look. “Are you okay!?”

My face throbs as I turn to look at her. I didn’t want to freak her any more. “I’m fine.”

Alya stares at me before averting her eyes. “Okay…” she trails off before looking around. Letting out a gasp as she spots something on the circling papyrus, she glances between me and it. “Wow, look Evan!” she points at the scroll before turning to the Pharaoh, “Who’s that goddess chick with black spots on your papyrus?”

“Ladybug, my sworn enemy. My nemesis kept me from carrying out my ritual 5000 years before.” He crushes the papyrus in his hands angrily. “But she won’t stop Nefertiti from coming back to me this time.”

“Did you say Ladybug…5000…years…ago?” Alya looks away from him in shock.

The Pharaoh turns his attention to the sky. “Oh sacred Ra—” I twist around and nervously watch as his staff starts to rise—“God of the Sun.” He releases both of us and I quickly scramble over to Alya. “I, Pharaoh, offer to thee a pure soul…”

Mummies surround us and she grabs my arm and looks at me wide eyes. I’m quickly pulled away from her, and my arm slips out of her grasp as I desperately try to grab any part of her I can. As they lift her up I watch helplessly from my spot on the ground. Trying to shake them off of me, I yell her name and look around for something—anything—to help break free.

Alya nervously yells my name as the mummies carry her closer to the black tear in the sky.

Frustration overcomes me and I clench my fist and glare at the ground. My pulse races and my ears start to ring as Alya yells for Ladybug’s help. Where was Ladybug and Chat Noir? If they didn’t hurry, then she was going to—

“Hey, you bunch of bandages—” my eyes fly open at the familiar voice and I look over—“Shall we wrap this up?”

“Chat Noir!” Alya and I yell in unison and I practically collapse in relief.

The Pharaoh immediately orders the mummies to catch him and all of them, including the ones holding me, rush after him.

I take the opportunity to gather my bearings and pick myself up from the ground. My muscles and face hurt, but I didn’t have the luxury of waiting to feel better. So, going the opposite way Chat was heading, I round the corner where I was grabbed and hurriedly glance around for the small rabbit.

“Blann?” I look around as I wipe the blood from the corner of my eye.

A small body zips out from behind a car and flies around my face. “Evan! You’re okay! I was worried that—ah! You’re face!” he yells and looks worriedly at the side of my face.

“I’m fine,” I state simply before hearing yelling coming from around the corner. “We got to change _now._ ” He gives me a disbelieving look but nods his head. “Ears up, Blann!”

My mask luckily covered the wound on my face so I didn’t have to worry about an excuse. It was still annoying, but nothing I couldn’t handle.

Peering around the corner, my eyes widen when I see Ladybug falling towards the ground. Quickly rushing over, I fall to my knees and skid across the cement as I manage to catch her.

We both let out a sigh of relief and I stand with her in my arms. Setting her on her feet, I look her over before smiling.

“Good catch, Lapin!” Alya yells from the roof.

I wave up at her before looking back at Ladybug. Before I could say anything, I hear a scream and Ladybug quickly pushes past me and falls to the ground as she catches a phone.

I look up and see Pharaoh as he boasts. “You’re not going to win this time, Ladybug!”

“Help me, Ladybug!” Alya yells as she tries to wiggle out in his arms.

Pharaoh points at me and Ladybug. “Crush that insect and rabbit!” The mummies start to surround us and I clench my fist and look around for Chat.

Spotting a group of mummies carrying a car, my eyes widen when I see him. “Ladybug!” I yell and point over to Chat.

She quickly throws her yoyo and wraps it around his ankle and pulls him towards us. “This way you two,” she says before running towards a bus.

Following after her, Chat slides under the bus and I jump over it to the other side. The mummies pile into it and the two of us tip it over.

Looking at me with a smirk, he sniggers and I follow him as he jumps back over the bus to Ladybug.

“We have to save Alya before she reaches the circle of darkness,” Ladybug states before taking off towards the museum.

Pharaoh shouts, “You will not stop me from bringing Nefertiti back. I’ll finish you off! Anubis, bring me mummies!” His headpiece changes and I quickly dodge a beam that shoots out of his eyes. Ladybug quickly throws her yoyo and traps his arms to his side. Chat and I head past him and start climbing up the museum to get to Alya.

Hearing Ladybug yelling, we duck just in time to avoid a flying Pharaoh and a certain bug trailing behind him. Watching them fly upwards, I’m amazed at how fast he’s actually going. Seeing something fall from the sky, I narrow my eyes and try to make it out.

“One of you grab the pendant. That’s where the Akuma is!” Ladybug yells, still in the sky.

Chat jumps down to grab it so I start climbing again to reach Alya. Reaching the top, I stare up at her and rack my brain for a way to get her down.

Hearing Pharaoh yelling down below, I ruffle my hair and think harder. Suddenly a thought struck me, if I could disrupt the flow I could maybe throw her off. I’d become the sacrifice, but giving my life for another was a pretty good way to go in my book.

Tossing myself onto the beam, I’m quickly raised to the top and bump into Alya. “Don’t worry, I’m here to help,” I state and move her to lie across my stomach.

“This offering isn’t good enough for Nefertiti,” Ladybug suddenly shouts. I can’t help but to let out a sardonic chuckle because it was too true.

Alya doesn’t seem to agree. “Hey, thanks a lot,” she grumbles before crossing her arms.

“It’s too late, Ladybug, the ritual had begun,” Pharaoh declares.

“Set them free and sacrifice me instead. Wouldn’t that be the sweetest revenge 5000 years later? After all, I’m the one who kept Nefertiti from you all these years.”

My eyes widen and I crane my neck to look down at Ladybug. Was she crazy? She couldn’t risk her life! Struggling to get into a useful position, I look at Alya. “I’m going to move you off and you’re going to roll down the side of the museum, okay?”

“What?” She looks at me in alarm. “No way! That’s a totally long fall.”

“Trust me, you’ll—”

Pharaoh shouts, “Horus, give me wings!” and flies towards us with Ladybug in tow.

Hovering in front of us, Alya gives him a look and says, “Seriously?”

Easily tossing us aside, I grab her as we slide down the side of the museum. Landing on the ground with a thud, I let go of Alya before she huffs and grumbles about being excellent sacrificing material.

Spotting the Pharaoh fly down and skid across the ground, he turns around and yells at Ladybug. “You tricked me!”

Seeing Ladybug skid down the museum, I stand up and stretch.

“Before you go—” Alya scrambles up and looks at me hopefully—“did you maybe see a tall boy with brown hair and grey eyes? Green flannel tied around his waist? Half of his face completely wrecked?”

I tense and glance back at her. “I’m afraid not,” she deflates a little and looks away, “but, you could ask Ladybug!” I point at Ladybug walking towards us and force a grin before leaping to the roof of the nearby building. Walking to the other side, I step off the ledge and land in an empty alleyway.

Quickly transforming back, I cup Blann in one hand and touch the side of my face. It didn’t hurt anymore and—pulling my fingers away and seeing no blood—it looked like it was perfectly fine. I let out a relieved sigh and ruffle my hair. Who knows how Aunt Claire would’ve reacted if it didn’t go away.

Leaning against the wall, I rub my eyes and take a deep breath. I was tired, but I still needed to get those pictures for Mr. Lacroix.

Blann flies from my hand and inspects my face. “You look a lot better, Evan!” he cheers and smiles at me.

Returning the smile, I look out the entrance of the alley. “We’ve got to go back to the museum for those pictures.”

“Okay.” He nods happily before flying into my bag.

Massaging my shoulder, I turn the corner and nearly collide into someone. Steadying myself, I clench my fists and look at my feet in embarrassment. “Excuse—”

“Evan!” I jump at my name and jerk my head up, “I was worried about you!” Alya shrieks and goes to touch me before stopping herself with an apologetic smile.

I stand there awkwardly and mumble, “I’m fine.”

“Now you are! You look so much better without all the blood.” She grins before looking over at her friend. “Marinette, you won’t believe what Evan did—” she gestures to me with an excited grin—“he totally risked his life to try and save me!”

“Really?” Marinette looks at me curiously.

I tense and fight the urge to look away in embarrassment. “It wasn’t anything special…” I trail off with a halfhearted shrug.

Alya waves her hand with a scoff. “ _Psh_ , whatever.”

I bite the inside of my cheek and glance between the two. “I should probably go. I’ve got to take some pictures…” trailing off, I point to the museum behind them.

“Oh, totally! Then I guess I’ll see you at school?”

My eyes widen and I look at her in surprise as Alya looks back at me with an expectant grin. “I—uh—yeah, sure,” I fumble out quickly before frowning. I was so lame.

“Great! I look forward to it!” She laughs before walking away with a wave as Marinette does the same.

Staring after them, I'm left bewildered at the whole encounter. _What just happened?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I actually really enjoyed writing this one, I won't lie. I really love Alya.


	8. Short - New Friends

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a real short meeting between Evan, Alya, and Marinette at school the day after the Pharaoh incident.

Shutting my locker, I knead my shoulder with a sigh. Blann squeaked and squealed about me finally making a friend most of the night. I didn’t say anything, but I was more realistic about Alya because there was no way she actually wanted to be friends.

“Hey, Evan!” I tense and glance away from my locker. Who would—

“Alya?” I question as my heart skips a beat.

“Don’t look so worried!” she laughs and pulls Marinette to her side, “We thought we’d say good morning, right Marinette?”

The dark-haired girl glances at Alya before giving me a small wave with a nervous smile. “Good morning…”

“Ja, good morning,” I reply self-consciously and nod my head.

She doesn’t let the awkwardness stay and quickly says, “How did those pictures turn out?”

My eyes widen. She actually remembered? “Oh! They ended up pretty good.” I furrow my brows, “Though the sarcophagus gave me some problems because of the way the lights were hitting it,” I sigh heavily and shake my head, “then it was almost impossible to get a good angle—” I realize they probably didn’t really care and look away—“ah, sorry. You guys probably aren’t interested in hearing me ramble.” I rub the side of my face as I try to force down the heat on my cheeks. I was making a fool out of myself again.

“It’s fine!” Alya dismisses my apologies with a laugh. “I’m used to rambling, aren’t I girl,” she says, nudging Marinette with a grin. “Though it’s usually about a certain _Adrien_.”

Marinette turns a bright red and sputters. “Alya, don’t say that! I don’t,” she flails her arms around wildly, “ramble about Adrien!”

With a laugh, Alya shakes her head. “Sure you don’t.” The brunette suddenly pulls out her phone and turns it to me. “I forgot to ask you your number yesterday, so…” she wiggles her phone with a grin.

Glancing between her and the phone, I tense. “I, uh, don’t have a cell phone,” I mumble.

“What?” I flinch at Alya’s loud yell. “Are you for real?”

My grip tightens on the strap of my bag as the scar on my hand begins to itch. Biting the inside of my cheek, I nod slowly.

“Why not?”

Feeling my face grow hot, I rub my cheek and force down the urge to look away. “I don’t really have any friends to call so it would be a waste, you know?” I state with a halfhearted shrug.

“Well you do now! Right, Marinette?” Alya exclaims.

Marinette nods enthusiastically with a fierce look. “Yeah! Anyone that saves Alya is a friend of mine!”

My heart skips a beat and my eyes widen as a flustered feeling settles in my gut. Fighting back a blush, a small smile tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Thanks,” I say as I scratch the side of my head.

The bell rings and the sound of lockers closing echoes around us. Alya quickly shoves her phone back in her pocket and grins up at me. “Come on, we can all walk to class together,” she says merrily and locks arms with Marinette.

Nodding, I readjust my bag and smile lightly as I fall in step with them. I’d have to apologize to Blann later because he seemed to be right; they did seem to want to be my friend.


	9. Lady Wifi

Grabbing the last of my things from my locker, I close it with a quiet sigh. I didn’t really get any sleep last night, insomnia deciding to come back with a vengeance. I maybe got two or three hour’s total, not to mention I bailed on the last half-hour of class yesterday because I wasn’t feeling well.

With a sigh, I rest my forehead against the cool metal and take a moment to try and collect myself.

“Evan!” I jerk at the shout of my name and turn around cautiously. Staring back at me is an excited looking Alya. I smile lightly back at her before I notice someone next to…

 _Nino?_ I stiffen and quickly avert my eyes away from him. Biting the inside of my cheek, I break into a cold sweat and my mouth goes dry. I couldn’t—

“What do you think, Evan?” I blink rapidly and look at Alya.

“Uh, sounds great,” I fumble out. “But I’ve gotta go and do something,” I offer lamely before shuffling away from them. Walking down the hall, I let my pulse slow and nerves settle.

Stepping into the classroom, I make my way to my desk with a tired sigh. Letting out a quiet yawn, I sit down and bury my face in my arms.

Hearing a bell go off, I jolt awake and look around wildly. Noticing the full class, I rub my bleary eyes and bite back a yawn. I must have fallen asleep without even knowing. Embarrassed, I sit up and roll my shoulders while scrubbing at my face. Noticing a piece of paper out of the corner of my eye, I slide it in front of me and furrow my brows.

The front is filled out with my name written neatly on the top. Flipping through the rest of the packet, I only grow more confused. I didn’t do this last night…

“Alright class, if you’ll focus on the board.” I glance up at the teacher and grab my tablet as I push the packet to the side. 

The minutes tick by as I wearily follow along with the teacher’s writings on the board. Spotting Marinette sneaking to her seat, I notice a lack of Alya. Whatever she was talking about this morning must have been pretty important to skip class for.

Shifting my gaze away from her, I make eye contact with Nino and quickly look away with a frown. I just couldn’t catch a break today with him. Focusing back on the teacher, I flinch when Marinette unexpectedly shouts. Glancing at her again, she lets out another yelp.

“That’s it. Marinette, go to the principal’s office!” The teacher whirls around and points to the door.

Watching as she sadly leaves the class I can’t help but feel for her a little. It was never fun being sent to the office for acting out. I’m pretty sure younger me would definitely agree.

The projector suddenly comes on and—is that _Alya_?!

“I’m Lady Wifi, Revealer of the Truth! For our first exposé, your principal would like to share a little tidbit with you.” Alya leans against the principal. “So, Mr. Damocles, is it true you wrongfully suspended a student named Alya today?” What? Why would she…

Mr. Damocles looks down and sighs. “Yes, it is.”

“So you were biased, unfair, and totally unjust?”

“Yes, I was.”

Alya puts her hands on her hips. “For my next scoop, I’ll be taking you to meet the girl who’s been hiding behind the Ladybug mask.” My eyes widen and I lean forward nervously. This…couldn’t be good. She then freezes the principal and ends the video.

Mrs. Bustier quickly turns to the class. “Everyone, for your own safety, go directly home, right now!”

I immediately stand and grab my bag. I’d wait for Nino to leave, but I obviously didn’t have time. Rushing out the class I hear her yell about homework.

Running to the boys’ bathroom, I fling open the door and freeze when I spot Adrien.

He quickly turns to face me and we stare at each other silently.

I continue to look at him.

He continues to look at me.

The air quickly turns awkward.

I clear my throat and try to smile, though it comes out more like a grimace.

Glancing away, I look back at him as I silently close the door. Turning around, I stiffly walk the opposite direction. Ducking behind the lockers, I sigh and fight back the urge to scream. It wasn’t even noon and I’ve already ran into the two people I try to avoid like the plague.

“You okay, Evan?” Blann asks worriedly as he hovers in front of me.

I look at him with a light smile. “Yeah, just a little embarrassed and tired. We better get going,” I push away from the lockers and bring my bracelet eye level. “Blann, ears up!”

Running across the roof, I spot Ladybug and Chat crouched at the edge of a nearby building. Quickly heading towards them, I skid to a stop with a grin. “Whatcha’ doin’?”

Ladybug turns towards to me and hands me her yoyo to look through as she points. “Who would believe she’s the original Ladybug?” Seeing Chloe doing a poor imitation of Ladybug, I snort and hand it back to her. “She’s obviously just a diehard fan.”

Grinning at her I snicker and say, “Aren’t you flattered?”

She just makes a face and shrugs before her eyes suddenly widen. “We’ve got Wifi.”

The three of us jump down and land on the balcony before rushing through the glass doors.

Lady Wifi looks at us and does a double take. “Who are you?” she demands with a frown.

Chat takes it upon himself to pose while Ladybug just looks at her.

Wifi turns to Chloe and says, “I thought you were Ladybug.”

I can’t help to snicker at her confused expression.

“Sorry to bust your news story. Next time double-check your facts,” Chat states with a large grin.

Wifi glares at us. “You’ll be sorry.” She unfreezes Chloe and I don’t bother catching her as she tumbles.

She looks around in confusion before focusing on Wifi. “Alya?”

“Alya’s been disconnected. I’m Lady Wifi—” she narrows her eyes—“Newsflash. Ladybug—” she puts her hand on her phone—“let’s find out who you really are!” she swipes her phone and Ladybug narrowly avoids the flying stop button.

Glancing over at me and Chat, she jerks her head and says, Follow me!” The two of us quickly chase after her while dodging the projectiles.

Leading us down the stairs, Chat and I ask simultaneously, “What’s the plan?”

“She gets her powers come from her phone—” I smack into Chat as we round the corner and give him an apologetic grin— “so let’s lead her down to the basement where there isn’t any service!”

Chat bumps into me the next corner and smirks. “No service, no power,” he simplifies and nods.

As I pass Ladybug, I give her a wink and say, “Smart thinking!”

“But we need to go lower!” she yells as she dodges another stop button.

“I’ve got you now, Ladybug!” Wifi’s loud taunt echoes down to us.

Reaching the basement, I pull out my Tonfas and glare up the stairs. This was some intense desire to unmask Ladybug. You think people would just be grateful to have someone protect them from Akumatized villains. If I was unmasked…

I flinch at the mere thought and choose to ignore that line of thinking.

“So…” I glance at Chat from the corner of my eye, “what do you do when you’re not Ladybug?” he asks curiously.

Ladybug sighs and shakes her head before turning to him. “Can’t you see we’re a little bit busy right now.” She gestures with an annoyed look.

I nudge Chat with a grin. “Bet you she takes long walks on the beach,” I offer and the image of a slow-mo Ladybug prancing down the beach makes me and Chat snigger.

The sound of footsteps and a door closing makes me turn to Ladybug. “She’s gone back in the hotel,” I state with alarm before taking off up the stairs. Passing by a door with a locked sign, I run past it and continue going up.

Still running up the stairs, Chat can’t seem to help himself. “You realize we might know each other in normal life?”

Ladybug easily dismisses the question. “I doubt it,” she states as we pass another door.

But for me, the thought almost makes me trip over myself. What if we did? What if they knew the unappealing, loser me? The me that had to take medicine to even hope to function. The me that was a coward and afraid to apologize for having another stupid episode and punching—

“She’s left this one open!” Chat’s voice pulls me out of my spiral and I skid to a stop in front of the unmarked door.

“Get ready for an ambush,” Ladybug warns. “On three!” she orders and steps back. “One…”

“Two…” Chat says as he tenses up.

“Three!” I yell as I throw open the door and rush in.

…Only to find the dining room is surprisingly empty?

Chat huffs and looks around. “So much for an ambush,” he mutters almost disappointed.

Ladybug looks around and tells us to follow her.

Looking around the room, a prickly feeling passes through me. Seeing a phone on every table, I get even tenser. Call it prey instinct, but this was going to be problematic.

No sooner has the thought passed my mind before Lady Wifi materializes from one of the phones with a cackle as she quickly starts shooting stop buttons at us.

Quickly splitting up, she focuses her fire at Chat. “How now brown cow—” Chat quickly flips a table and hides behind it— “I thought it was you she was after!”

I land next to him and help brace the table. “Must be that electric personality of yours!” I state and send him a large grin.

A button suddenly hits the table and sends us flying back. Barely holding in a pained grunt, I audibly groan when Chat crashes into me. Collapsing on the ground, I hold my stomach and hiss. I somehow always ended up having people crash into me. Slowly realizing that I’m on top of a certain Chat, a funny feeling makes my heart flutter and I quickly push myself up.

Pretending to brush myself off, I try to calm my pulse and fan away the blush threatening to overcome my face. This reaction was sadly slowly becoming more and more common. I never had a problem touching him before, but if it gets any worse I’d have to swallow my shame and seek help.

Seeing Ladybug chase Lady Wifi out of the room, I turn to Chat and quickly pull him up. “Come on! They went in the kitchen!”

Rushing towards the doors, they swing shut just before we reach them. We try to force are way in, to no avail.

“No, no, no!” Chat panics and throws his hands up in frustration. “Hold on in there, Ladybug!” He yells as he quickly takes out his staff and pulls up the hotel’s blueprints. “Of course, the service elevator!” he exclaims before grabbing my wrist and dragging me towards it.

Stopping in front of the small elevator, I break into a cold sweat. That thing was hardly big enough for one person, let alone two! The world seems to almost tilt as I try to think of some way to avoid getting in that thing with Chat. “I—uh, don’t think that will fit us both…” I trail off and nervously roll my shoulders, “maybe we should go one at a time?” I offer lamely, because let’s be real, I don’t think I could deal with another… _whatever_ …I had earlier.

“We don’t have time for that, we have to save Ladybug.” He cuts my offer down and points at the box, “You get in first since you’re… _taller_ —” he almost looks pained to say it— “and I’ll squeeze in.”

Looking at his anxious body language, I knew I would lose the fight before it even started. So, really hoping that hey, maybe it was bigger on the inside, I climb into the service elevator and realize that no, no it wasn’t.

Chat barely gives me enough time before he climbs on top of me and straddles my hips. My heart immediately goes haywire and if I thought my sweating was bad earlier, than boy was I wrong.

Forced in to such a tight space, I’m acutely aware of how much of Chat is just… _around me._ The way his warm breath fans against my ear as the pants from the heat of a small, confined space. The barely audible grunts when he moves. Every time he slides against me as he tries to get more comfortable. He was so, so close.

I take a sharp breath as my mouth suddenly goes dry.

With my pulse pounding in my ears, I shift and try to distract myself. It only works for a couple seconds before I notice something that makes my thoughts fizzle out.

There, just below his jaw, was a small exposed part of neck. Unable to pull my eyes away from the sight, a heavy feeling settles in my gut as I lick my lips. Without thinking, I lean forward and—

Before I could do something I’d regret the elevator doors open with a beep. Like being doused in cold water, the spell is broken and a searing blush burns my whole face.

All but throwing Chat out, I can’t bring myself to look at him as my whole body overheats. _What was that_? Glancing to my side, my eyes widen when I see Ladybug stuck to the wall. Forcing my racing thoughts to slow, I promise myself to _never_ be in an enclosed space with Chat.

“You’re out of minutes, Lady Wifi,” Chat states, pulling me back to the situation at hand.

“Aw, how romantic.” She looks at him with a sneer. “Tomcat’s come to save his lovebug.” Her gaze trails to me and I stiffen under her patronizing gaze. “Or maybe her wittle bunny-wunny did?”

Ladybug frowns and quickly says, “I’m not either of their lovebug.”

Chat just shrugs and says, “We’ll come back to that later” with a wink.

My stomach lurches at his words for some reason.

A stop button flies at us and I quickly jump out of the way. Before I can get my footing, Chat, once again, crashes into me and we’re shoved into the walk-in freezer.

Slamming against the shelves, I slide to the floor and rub the back of my head. A ring quickly rolls by and my eyes widen when a small Kwami appears. It looks up and me and freezes in its spot. That had to be Chat’s Kwami! But if it was out…then Chat was—

“My ring!” 

I stiffen and quickly slap my hand over my eyes. Refusing to turn around, I bite the inside of my cheek. This wasn’t good. “Chat…” I trail off wearily, “are you normal now?”

I can practically hear him tense behind me. “Lapin! You got trapped in here too?”

“Yeah—” I have to stop myself from automatically turning towards him—“but don’t worry! I won’t look.”

Chat doesn’t say anything, but I hear rustling on the floor. “Where is it?” he mumbles before speaking up, “I could use a little help, Plagg.”

“Plagg?” I repeat the odd name without thinking. “That’s your Kwami’s name?”

A small black cat flies in front of me with a glare. “Yeah, what of it?”

“Ah, nothing!” I wave my hand and smile, “It just wasn’t a name I heard of before.”

“Hmm, you’ve got that bunny, Blann, don’t you?” he asks as he gives me a once over.

My brows rise at his tone. “Yeah, why?”

A smirk tugs at his face as he crosses his arms. “He’s just a bit of a crybaby, isn’t he?”

“Plagg… ” Chat warns sharply as more rustling comes from behind me.

“Its fine, Chat,” I laugh before grinning at Plagg. “Besides, I don’t get to meet a lot of cute cat Kwamis in my free time anyway.”

Plagg eyes twinkle. “I am cute, aren’t I?”

Lightly chuckling, I frown when I notice him shiver. “Want a cuddle, kitty-cat?” I question and open my arms.

He scoffs. “You think I need—” another shiver stops him for a second—“okay, fine.” He crashes into my chest and I cover him with one of my hands. Looks like all Kwamis were cuddly.

After what feels like forever, Chat finally speaks up. “Why are you and Ladybug so adamant about keeping our identities hidden from each other?”

Surprised at the randomly loaded question, I let out a chuckle through chattering teeth. “Ladybug probably has her reasons, just like I do—” I shiver and rub my free hand against my thigh—“and we have to respect her choice.”

I could almost picture Chat pouting. “Well, what about—”

Loud banging on the other side of the door makes me jump. “I’ll get you guys out of there!” Ladybug’s panicked shout barely passes through the thick metal door.

“T-Take your time,” Chat chatters out.

The cold works its way up my spine again. “Any luck yet?”

“Not yet. Just let me—gotcha!” he lets out a triumphant yell and I sigh in relief.

Plagg stirs and winks at me as he flies behind me to Chat.

He quickly yells, “Claws out!” and I wait for the okay to open my eyes.

“It’s okay now,” he mumbles out through chattering teeth.

Not wasting a single moment, I jump up and turn to him with a semi-forced smile. “F-Finally,” I state before my smile falls when I notice how cold he looks, “j-jeez, Chat, you’re looking like a Popsicle over there.” I shuffle towards him and wrap my arms around him because we were both too cold to do much else at this point. Rubbing my hands up and down his back, Chat doesn’t object and nuzzles against me.

Suddenly feeling a _lot_ warmer, I tighten my hold on him and mentally urge Ladybug to hurry. Almost immediately, the metal door swings open and I sigh in relief.

“You guys okay?” she asks worriedly as Chat quickly pulls away from me and steps out of the giant freezer.

Her miraculous suddenly bleeps, causing Chat and I to look at her. “You used your lucky charm. There’s not much time left!” Chat states worriedly before heading to the still locked swinging doors. “Zap open the door.”

“We can’t—” she points to the fried microwave—“the microwave is busted.”

Well, that’s not good.

I ruffle my hair and glance around the kitchen and mumble, “There’s gotta be something we can do.”

Ladybug suddenly pulls me close to her and Chat by the front of my costume. “Here’s what we’ll do…” she starts and glances at the recording button, “block it from recording us, and then one of you take the service elevator to the roof and somehow stop the antenna.” She releases my collar and looks at the both of us.

“Got it,” I answer with a grin. Chat smirks as well before grabbing a pan and covering the button.

With that out of the way, Chat starts climbing in the cramped elevator. “I’ll jam the wifi antenna.” He points to me with narrowed eyes, “Better not do anything to my lady while I’m gone.”

Shrugging my shoulders, I grin at him as I press the up button. “Better hurry then!” I goad with a wink as the door slides closed. Listening to it ascend, I lean against the counter and cross my arms. 

“You tease him a little too much, Lapin Blanc,” Ladybug states as she shakes her head with a smile.

I grin at her happily. “I try.”

We settle into a comfortable, if somewhat anxious, silence. Peeking at her from the corner of my eye, I could understand why Chat would like her so much. I frown as an unhappy feeling settles in my chest.

Looking away from her, I furrow my brows at my own feelings. Why would I be upset that Chat liked her? It’s not as if I hated Ladybug—I cared for her a lot as well! Groaning to myself, I bite the inside of my cheek. Emotions were real hard to understand sometimes.

Ladybug’s miraculous bleeps again and I glance to her worriedly.

“Hurry, Chat Noir…” she begs quietly as she touches her earring.

Shoving away from the counter, I turn to her and pat her head. “Don’t worry, Bug, Chat is no doubt trying his hardest.”

Ladybug looks up at me and bites her lip and says, “I know he is…but—”

“Well you don’t have to worry about me ever looking,” I offer honestly as I step back, “and Chat will cut the antenna any moment now. So don’t worry, okay?”

It’s silent for a moment before Ladybug seems to relax and smiles at me gratefully. “Thanks. I—” her eyes widen as she turns towards away. “The lock’s gone. We better hurry before time runs out!”

An idea suddenly springs to my mind. “Say no more!” I shout happily and pick her up.

She quickly wraps her arms around my neck with a yelp. “What are you doing?!”

I look at her with a grin. “Getting us there faster, though you might want to hold on!” I laugh out as I activate my Miraculous and start running out through the dining hall.

As a large amount of adrenaline rushes through me, I zip through the door and up the stairs. Judging by how tight her grip is, I can only assume Ladybug isn’t enjoying the feeling as much as I am.

Quickly reaching the rooftop, I skid to a stop and put Ladybug down in front of the exit. Seeing her disheveled look, I hold back a snicker and grin at her.

“We’re _not_ doing that again,” she puts her hand on her heart and leans against the wall, “ ** _Ever._** ”

Still barely holding in my laugh, I give her a salute and say, “Yes, Ma’am!”

She takes another deep breath and straightens out her hair. “Okay, let’s go!” she orders before opening the door and running out. Following close behind, I spot Lady Wifi holding Chat down.

Without wasting a moment, Ladybug throws her yoyo and wraps it around her wrist and pulls her off.

Watching the phone go airborne, I hastily throw my Tonfa at it with all my strength.

Smashing into it, the phone shatters and an Akuma flies out as it falls to the ground. Letting Ladybug do her thing, I head over to Chat and help him up.

“Everything good?” I question with a grin.

Smirking at me, he lightly punches my shoulder and crosses his arms. “Now don’t go getting soft on me, bunny.”

I laugh and stick my tongue out at him. “In your dreams, kitty,” I state jokingly before my miraculous starts bleeping erratically. “Whelp, looks like this Lepus gotta leap.”

Ladybug’s earrings start bleeping as well and she nods. “Me too.”

Moving to the edge of the roof, I turn around and give them a final grin before stepping off.

Landing in a crouch, I hop up and rush to the dark alley across the road. Peaking around, I change back and cradle Blann in my hands.

“Are you really okay with never knowing?” Blann chirps while looking at me curiously.

I frown and lean against the wall. Unmasking myself would never end happily. The gap between _Lapin Blanc_ and _Evan Mercier_ was too wide to ever connect. Everyone would just end up disappointed in the end.

With a long sigh, I finally answer Blann with a silent nod. It wasn’t even an option.

“Why?”

“Because,” I sigh and look up at the sky, “I don’t want to let them down.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was my favorite chapter to write so far and I hope it wasn't too bad. It's also a lot longer than the others lol


	10. The Evillustrator

“Nathanael!” The teacher’s nasally voice brings me from my daydreaming and I look at her. “What are you drawing?” she questions harshly as she leans over the redhead. He looks shocked and embarrassed and tries to stutter out a response but is cut off by the teacher. “And these—” she picks up a piece of paper—“artistic endeavors are clearly why you are failing science.”

“I’m sorry...”

“You go march yourself down to the principal’s office and show him that chicken scratch! Then you’ll really be sorry!”

I watch as he gets up to leave and wince as he trips in front of Chloe.

“Look Sabrina,” the blonde picks up one of his books, “it’s him as a superhero. Look who he’s saving! It’s that total spaz, Evan.” She glances back at me with a disgusted face. “Gross, he’s totally crushing on him.”

Nathanael quickly grabs the book out of her hands as the teacher shouts at him to go.

I glare at the back of Chloe’s head. That girl was a viper and an _assi_ ; she didn’t seem to care about anyone but herself.

The teacher makes her way back to her desk. “Okay, the next particle physics presentation group is—” I tense and groan to myself; group work was the worst—“Nino, Adrien and Alya,” a rush of air escapes my lungs and I relax a little. Two birds with one stone. “Then Sabrina, Chloe, Marinette, and Evan.”

Ah, this wasn’t going to be even a little okay.

“Uh, miss?” Chloe grabs the teacher’s attention and raises her hand, “Can’t you put them in their own group? Sabrina and I work much better on our own.”

The teacher doesn’t even pause to think it over. “This is a group presentation, not pairs. Deal with it.”

The bell rings and I slump in my chair. I _really_ didn’t like Chloe or Sabrina, but Marinette seemed okay from what I could tell. I sigh quietly and stand as I grab my things.

“Hey, Evan…” Marinette stands by my desk with a nervous smile, “do you want to meet in the library to start the project?”

I rub my forehead and try not to dwell on who else would be there. “Yeah, just let me get my things and I’ll meet you there.”

She quickly nods her head before rushing back to Alya.

After making sure Nino isn’t around, I leave the science room and make my way to my locker. I don’t know what that science teacher was thinking placing people who _definitely_ didn’t get along in the same group…then again, I’d imagine there were only a handful of people who got along with Chloe.

Opening my locker, I put my books away and rub my face. I was already ready for today to be over. If I had the time, I’d make a few laps as Lapin to raise my spirits. Maybe if I was lucky, I would’ve even run into Chat.

A grin tugs at my mouth at the thought; it always made me happier to see him.

Realizing that I’ve wasted enough time, I reluctantly start heading to the library. I didn’t want to make Marinette wait.

As soon as I walk through the doors, Chloe’s voice leads me to them. “What do you mean you’re not doing my assignment?” she questions as I near the table.

“Marinette’s right, I-I’m not your slave,” Sabrina states. Is she actually standing up for herself?

Marinette looks defeated as she says, “I never actually said that…” her eyes widen as she looks at me, “look Evan’s here so we can—”

Chloe pulls out a hat and cuts her off. “But Marinette didn’t buy a super cute beret at Gabriel’s and I did.” She dangles it in front of Sabrina with a smirk. “And perhaps I could lend it to you.”

 I’m actually stunned for a second. Buying a friend?

“Excuse me,” the dark-haired girl seems to share my amazement, “Are you trying to bribe her into staying your friend…” she glances at me and shakes her head, “…with a hat?”

Surely no one would be around someone so rude just for a hat?

“A really, really adorable hat! That would look fantastic on me.” Sabrina bounces in her seat and looks at it excitedly.

Well, I guess I stand corrected.

Chloe glares at Marinette. “No, excuse me—” she slams the hat down and actually looks angry—“you are trying to steal my friend from me—” she gestures wildly to some papers on the table—“with homework!”

Now I was getting frustrated. She always did this; blaming others for her own short comings. “Quit acting so high and mighty, Chloe,” I bite out and glare at her. “Maybe if you were actually _nice_ you wouldn’t have to worry about her being stolen away.”

“Excuse me?” she looks at me with a sneer, “You don’t—” Berets suddenly start falling down on her and she screams while covering her head. A moment later, a giant hairdryer appears and blows at her menacingly.

Seeing the others run away, I shake myself out of my stupor and duck behind a bookshelf. “Okay Blann,” he peaks up at me excitedly from my camera case, “ears up!”

Peaking around the corner of the bookshelf, I spot Ladybug…riding the hairdryer? Today was surreal.

Spotting Chat on top of a bookshelf, I jump up beside him with a grin.

“I got _wind_ you were being _blown_ away by a _hairy_ situation,” he states with a grin.

“Yeah, looks like she’s having a _hair-raising_ experience,” I snigger out and elbow his side.

“Fewer puns, more action!” Ladybug shouts angrily as the hairdryer tries to throw her off.

Chat quickly jumps down and barely misses it with his staff.

Watching as it shoots off in another direction, I pull out my Tonfas and leap at it. Landing on top of it, I use the blunted tip of my weapon to crack the outer casing.

Feeling it stall, I jump off as it disintegrates into nothing.

“Well that guy looks pretty sketchy,” Chat says.

I look at Chat and follow his gaze to a beret wearing guy on the second floor. Leaping up after the two of them, I barely skid to a halt as they crash into a glass looking pane. Only taking my eyes off of him for a second, he manages to disappear when I look back.

Ladybug glances around. “Where’d he go?”

“I don’t know but he sure _illustrates_ his point!” Chat states as puts him hand on his hips.

I hold in a snicker and offer my hand to Ladybug.

She groans at his pun, but nods gratefully and grabs my hand. “He looks to be going after Chloe intentionally.” She looks around thoughtfully.

“Now that I think about it, isn’t this her second time being targeted by someone Akumatized?” I cross my arms and lean over the bannister, “She really seems to be a favorite among them, doesn’t she?”

“It’s because she’s such a rude person,” Ladybug fumes and I look at her with a raised brow. How would she know? “Err, I mean—” she fumbles and quickly tries to change the subject—“we should go and make sure she doesn’t get attacked again.” She jumps down the stairs and starts heading out the door. “Let’s go!”

Chat and I look at each other questionably before I shrug my shoulders and jump down after her. “I’ll race you, kitty!” I twirl around and wink at him before rushing out of the library. I pick up him yelling about me being a cheater and laugh with a wide grin.

Rushing across the rooftops, Chat and I are nose to nose when I spot the hotel we were just at not too long ago. Seeing Ladybug leap over to the balcony, I glance at Chat and falter at the determined look on his face. Now that I think about it, I’ve never let him win before, have I? Maybe just this once…

I slow my pace so that he has the lead when we jump to the hotel.

Landing just a second after him, he actually looks surprised at his victory. “Did I just win?”

“I think you did,” Ladybug says a little shocked.

Chat breaks into a large grin and turns to me with his hands on his hips. “Told you I’d win some day, bunny,” he gloats over me and I have to look way to hide my smile. His excitement was way too cute.

“Wait…” I force the small smile off my face and look at him, “did you let me win?”

“What? No way!” I wave him off and turn toward the glass doors but spot Chloe with her phone out.

“You did, didn’t you?!” says Chat with a pout.

“Chat, just let it go.” I hear Ladybug sigh before she turns to the blonde. “Chloe, we need to talk to you about the attack that happened in the library.”

Chloe sighs. “Whatever,” she says before heading back into the apartment.

The three of us take it as an invitation and follow after her. Seeing her sitting on her couch I flop down on the other couch opposite of her. Chat and Ladybug choose to stand behind the couch instead; their loss.

“Seem this Evillustrator is targeting you specifically, Chloe. Any ideas why?”

She finally looks away from the paper in her hands. “No, everyone adores me.”

I have to hold in a scoff at that.

“Yeah, because you’re so adorable…” Ladybug grumbles.

I have to raise my eyebrow at that. Ladybug being rude-sarcastic was a rare thing (even if I did agree).

Chloe, apparently, couldn’t understand sarcasm. “Yay!” she jumps up from the couch excitedly, “Ladybug said I’m adorable!” she pulls out her phone and rushes to her side. “I totally need a picture of us together.”

Ladybug knocks her arm away and stands with a huff as she walks away. “That was unpleasant.”

_Ohoho_ , something tells me she doesn’t like Chloe.

“I look great, as always, but your smile’s all wonky.” She rushes back over to her. “Let’s take another.”

Ladybug groans and doesn’t look even a little bit pleased.

Noticing the piece of paper Chloe had earlier, I lean over and pick it up. Seeing it doesn’t make me even a little bit happy.

She scrawled all over a picture that Nathanael drew. I wasn’t even really upset that she scribbled all over me, just that she could ruin something someone obviously put effort into so easily. If someone did that to one of my photographs, I’d—

Rage sweeps through me as I toss the picture down. I couldn’t be around her right now. She was such a brat!

“Looks like somebody’s got a fan, right Lapin?” Chat looks at me with a smirk, though Ladybug doesn’t look even a little pleased.

“Uh, yeah…” I trail off and decide now or never. “Since it looks like you two have it under control, I’m gonna go ahead and patrol the area. See ya.” I don’t give them time to respond and quickly head to the balcony.

“Wait!” Chat yells and I stop without thinking. “You can’t just leave! What if—”

I was a little too frustrated to be around people right now. “Just think of it as a chance to get closer with Ladybug, okay? No third wheel this time.” I don’t bother saying goodbye and leap over the railing. I just really needed to cool off before I got angry.

I reach the flower shop faster than normal.

Landing on my balcony, I walk into my room and transform back with a frown. Putting my camera case on my desk, Blann flies from it and silently sits on my desk.

I ignore him as I sit on the bed and bring my hands to my head. It was really stupid to get so upset over a stupid drawing, I knew that. But once the anger’s there, it’s difficult to let go. I used to be angry all the time as a child. Said hurtful things to other kids and got into fights over dumb things all the time.

But that wasn’t me, not anymore.

I groan loudly before standing up; I needed a shower. Grabbing my things, I quickly head down to the bathroom with Blann trailing behind me quietly.

Entering the bathroom and laying my clean clothes down, I hastily tear off my dirty ones and turn the hot water on and step in. Biting back a hiss at the heat, I soon relax and just let my thoughts wander.

I wasn’t exactly sure how much time passed, but I eventually started feeling better. Turning the shower off, I open the curtain with a sigh. Seeing Blann holding a towel for me, I give him a grateful smile and take it from him.

“I was pretty rude back there, wasn’t I?” my muffled voice is barely heard through the towel.

“You may have been a little on the rude side, but you did the right thing. Walking away before you lashed out.” say Blann, sitting on the sink.

I finish getting dressed and look at him nervously. “You think so?”

Blann smiles at me and says, “I know so.”

Now definitely more relaxed, I leave the bathroom and dry my hair on the way back to my room. Opening my door, I freeze when I see the Evillustrator standing in my room.

“ _Was machen Sie?!_ ” I demand tensely as I glare at him.

He stares at me but doesn’t seem to know what to say.

Realizing that I shouted at him in German out of panic, an embarrassed flush threatens to spread across my face. I quickly clear my throat and try again. “What are you doing?” I try to keep my voice stern, but the initial bite is already long gone.

“Oh, I just wanted to see you,” he states casually as if it’s the most normal thing in the world.

I stare at him and narrow my eyes as I tug on my gloves behind my back. “Why..?”

“I…well, it’s my birthday today and,” he looks away nervously, “would you like to come to my party?”

 What? Surely he couldn’t be serious. “Are you for real?” He nods seriously and I suddenly feel awkward. Looking away from him, I scratch my cheek. “Uh, I don’t really do parties.”

“You don’t have to worry about other people. It would just be the two of us!” he exclaims before music starts to play as he twirls to me and holds out a piece of paper.

I stare at him for a moment before grabbing it. Looking at the paper, my eyes widen at the drawing of me. So this guy had to be Nathanael from school, right? That would explain why he was targeting Chloe then.

“I’ll come if you quit causing trouble,” I state and look back at him.

He stands up with a relieved smile. “Of course! So you’ll come?”

I nod my head.

“Then meet me at the left bank next to Notre-Dame—” he draws a jetpack on himself with a smile—“at sunset!” He blasts off and leaves through my open balcony door.

Staring after him, I shuffle to the other side of my room and shut the door with a blank look. Taking a moment to look outside, I narrow my eyes before drawing the curtain.

Feeling a little more secure, I move to my bed and fall face first into it with a sigh.  

“What are you thinking, Evan, meeting that guy on your own!” Blann lands on my back and starts smacking me lightly.

Sighing into my pillow, I turn my head and frown. “I can protect myself if needed, but…” I glance back at the drawing. “Why would he even come here and invite me out?”

“Evan…” he whines out as he falls on me, “it’s obvious he likes you.”

I scoff and push myself up. “Yeah right.” I roll my eyes. “But more importantly, how am I going to get Ladybug and Chat there without telling them who I am?”

Blann is silent for a moment before yelping excitably.

“I know!” he zips to the front of my face, “Just tell them you overheard the Evillustrator telling this Evan guy that he’d leave everyone alone if he came to his party. It’s full proof!”

That…was actually a good idea. So, having a believable story, I nod at Blann and say, “ears up!”

Gripping the tonfa in my hand, I take a deep breath to calm my nerves before calling Ladybug.

“Lapin Blanc, what happened to you?” Ladybug’s voice rings from my weapon.

“I don’t really have time to explain, but I heard the Evillustrator telling this Evan Mercier guy that, if he went to his party, he’d leave everyone alone,” I explain hastily and hold my breath.

“Did you say Evan Mercier?!”

“Yeah…why?” I swallow heavily and my leg starts to bounce. Did she know normal me?

“No, no, it’s nothing important. Are you absolutely sure about this?”

I bite the inside of my cheek nervously. “Yeah, one hundred percent.”

“Okay, where do you want to meet? Because I’m so ready to ditch Chloe, you have no idea. She actually has Chat doing her project right now.”

“Uh, I can’t.” I could just imagine the look on her face. “I have something to do, so I won’t be able to help.”

The line goes quiet for a moment. “I got it,” she sighs out before continuing, “I’ll contact you if things become too bad. Be careful.” She ends the call and I transform back with a sigh.

“Ladybug is too understanding sometimes,” I groan into my hands. Standing with a sigh, I stretch and massage my shoulder as I look around. Taking off my gloves, I toss them on my bed and flex my fingers. I just needed to relax and not work myself up about later today.

Sitting on the small gray couch, Blann cuddles next to me as he turns on the TV and settles on some reality show. I try to get into it, but I’m still a little restless. Letting out another sigh, I decide to get some air and walk out to the balcony.

Leaning against the railing, I stare down at the street. I wasn’t sure why someone would be interested in normal me in the slightest. “ _Ich verstehe die Leute nicht_ ,” I sigh out because, yeah, _I really didn’t understand people._

“What was that?”

I jump and whirl around before tensing at who I see. “Ladybug…and…Chat Noir…” I trail off and look around nervously. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We heard that the Evillustrator invited you out,” Ladybug cuts right to the chase and smiles at me encouragingly. Chat, on the other hand, looks like he could care less.

I relax a bit knowing what they’re here for. “Ah, yeah, he said something about his birthday party.” I massage my shoulder and sigh.

Ladybug gasps. “Your hand…”

I freeze and realize that I wasn’t wearing my gloves. Self-consciously bringing my hand to my chest, I force a smile and look away from her stiffly. “It’s just a childhood injury, is all.”

They didn’t look like they bought it, but I don’t think I could tell them the truth. I mean, how are you supposed to tell someone that your mother burned your hand on a stove just because you weren’t hungry? No one wants to hear those sorts of things.

“You guys can follow me to him, but…” I sigh and slouch over. I actually felt a little guilty doing this to him. But…he was under Hawkmoth’s control now so he couldn’t really be happy. “Just let me grab my gloves.” I head back into the bedroom and grab the gloves from my bed.

Blann peaks out from under a pillow and I make a shushing motion and point to my camera case. He gets the message and quickly flies into it without a word. Zipping it and putting it around my neck, I take a calming breath and turn back to the glass door.

Seeing the balcony empty, I assume they plan to follow me from the rooftops. Spotting the little art palette phone strap I got from the studio on my desk, I pick it up. Because something is better than nothing, right?

Heading down to the shop, I nod at Aunt Claire as I leave through the back door. Making sure it’s locked behind me I bite the inside of my cheek and quickly start my trek to Notre-Dame. This was for the best.

As the sun sets, I draw closer to the meeting place. Nearing a large ship, I spot Nathaniel and take a deep breath. “Hey,” I clear my throat and he turns to me quickly. “Uh…happy birthday.”

“Evan,” he greets shyly before hoping down to me. “I made something—this way.” He motions for me to follow and my eyes widen as he leads me to a mini Eiffel tower.

“Woah, this is amazing. You _drew_ all this?” I state in shock as I stare up at the tiny replica.

“You really think so?” he asks bashfully before grinning. “Well hold on. I’m just getting started.”

I watch as he leaps away and curses at the sky when the clouds block out the moon.

He glances back at me apologetically and says, “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you—” he kneels next to a lamp—“it’s just that I can’t draw in the dark.” A mini moon appears over the tower and he spins to me with a smile. “Voilà!” He steps back down to me with a happy grin as the guilt was really starting to eat at me.

Remembering the phone strap, I dig it out of my pocket and hold it out to him. “This is for you.”

He takes it from me and I fluster as I try to explain myself.

“You invited me out suddenly and I didn’t want to not give you anything, so…” I trail off and sigh in defeat, “sorry it’s just a cheap trinket.”

His head jerks up and I jump at the sudden motion. “No, no. It’s great! You didn’t have to get me anything.” He smiles up at me shyly. “Thank you.”

I flush lightly and look away with a small smile. “It’s no problem.”

We fall into an embarrassed silence before he seems to remember something. “Would you like to go on a boat ride with me?”

I nod and let him lead me back to the ship. Chat and Ladybug better hurry because I don’t know how much longer I could hold on. He was seriously making me feel bad.

Following him to a bench, he sits and motions for me to do the same. As I sit, the boat starts moving and he begins playing music from his tablet.

As we ride down the river, I spot two figures running across the rooftops. Mentally sighing in relief, I turn back at Nathaniel. “Why’d you attack Chloe?” I question, even though I’m pretty sure I already know.

The music stops and he looks away with narrowed eyes. “She’s a horrible person.”

I nod and look up at the dark sky. “I can sympathize.”

“Though, I was able to meet you because of Chloe. It was amazing—” he places his hand on mine and I tense at the unexpected touch—“You stood up to her without any fear when she was teasing me.”

I wasn’t quite sure what the look on his face meant, but it still made my pulse jump. “I, uh—”

“Evan, now!” Ladybug yells from behind me and I jump forward without question. Rolling to my feet, Ladybug stands beside me with the pen in her hand while Chat’s staff traps the Evillustrator to the bench.

“Evan?” He looks shocked and betrayed before becoming furious. “I thought you actually liked me, but I should have known better!”

He kicks Chat’s staff and knocks the pen out of Ladybug’s hand before catching it in the air.

Chat jumps after him but immediately gets trapped in a clear box with Ladybug. Nathaniel turns his glare to me and draws me in a box as well before jumping on it. The betrayed look gets me right in the gut.

“And I’m taking back my promise. Chloe’s going to get a lesson she’ll never forget!” He then jumps away as the ship starts to sink.

Trying desperately to move the box, I tremble and try not to panic. Drowning wasn’t how I wanted to go.

Glancing over at the other two, I watch them easily throw the box off thanks to Chat’s staff. Seeing them go up to the bridge, I stare up after them. They wouldn’t leave me…right?

I almost sob in relief when they jump back over and land next to me. I’m not able to hear them through the thick glass, but I try my best to help them tip it over. It takes some teamwork and elbow grease, but they eventually get Chat’s staff under it and tip it over.

Not wasting any time, he grabs me and he leaps up to the bridge. As soon as he lets me go, I take several deep breaths to calm myself. “Thanks,” I gasp out before turning to them with a light smile. “Now youou guys better go and save the day.”

They both stare at me for a moment before nodding and running off after ~~Nathaniel~~ , no, the _Evillustrator_.

Noticing something at my feet, I recognize the phone strap I gave to him earlier. Picking it up, I stare at if for a moment before pocketing it. I wasn’t sure what I was going to do with it, but I’d decide later.

“I told you he liked you!” Blann twirls around in front of my face, “Maybe when he’s back to normal, you can give him the strap again, and become friends, then maybe best friends, and then—”

“ _Hä?_ ” I sigh out as I poke his forehead. “Don’t start deciding my life story just yet. We still have to help Chat and Ladybug first.”

He swats my finger away with a giggle. “Then let’s go!”

“Alright, Blann, ears up!”

Rushing through the city, I near the hotel and land on the balcony. Seeing Chat and Ladybug already there, I opt for a dramatic entrance. “Don’t worry, the rabbit has arrived!” I shout and slide in-between the two with a grin.

“Well look what the cat dragged in.” Chat puts his hand on his hip with a smirk. “So what was so important you had to bail?”

I shrug and wink. “Let’s just say I was caught up in a _harey_ situation.”

“In the comics, this is what’s known as the final showdown. The thing is if you knew her, you wouldn’t bother saving her. She’s the real baddie!” the Evillustrator states angrily.

“It’s not true. Everybody adores me,” Chloe butts in from a corner in the room. (It takes a lot to keep my scoff internal) The Evillustrator quickly draws boxing gloves and sends them charging at us. Chat shouts for us to look out but is tossed out to the balcony.

Jumping in front of the Chloe, I swing at the one heading towards her while Ladybug destroys the other.

She then quickly throws her yoyo at him but it blocked with a glass panel. A buzz saw quickly takes off towards Ladybug and she deflects it unknowingly towards me and Chloe.

Shoving her more behind me, I bring my forearms up, tonfas forward, and screw my eyes shut. Just as it’s about to hit, it stops and falls to the ground with a thud. Seeing a familiar staff, I look at Chat and give him a salute.

He winks before throwing it at the Evillustrator, who quickly dodges it.

Staring at the broken light, I’m suddenly stuck by an idea. “Guys,” I get their attention and gesture to the light around us. “He can’t draw in the dark!”

Chat nods his head, activating his Cataclysm and rushing for the light switch. Just before he can touch it, it disappears and he instead takes out a large section of the wall.

“Here you go, kitty; a little ball and chain to play with.” The Evillustrator smirks as he draws a ball and chain around Chat’s ankle. “Sadly, those who get in my way get erased.”

Stumbling back as the floor disappears around me, I dive forward and grab Chat’s hand as he falls through the hole. Holding onto him as tightly as I can, Chat looks as worried as I feel when his miraculous bleeps. As I struggle desperately to lift him up, the guy I no longer felt guilty over steps up to us.

“Before you go, you two have something I want.”

“Yeah right,” I scoff and glare up at him as I tighten my hold on Chat, “over my lucky rabbit’s foot.”

“Hey, bunny—” I glance down at Chat—“maybe _don’t_ antagonize the guy while my nine lives are at stake?”

I let out a strained laugh and start trying to pull him up again. “Sorry, sorry. I guess you could say I’m worried about leaving you _hanging_.”

“Yeah, I can tell your really _falling_ into a panic.” Chat’s laugh didn’t really reach his eyes, but then again mine probably didn’t either.

The sound of glass shattering makes me jump and I hastily readjust my grip as it gets darker. Hearing Chat’s miraculous bleep again, I double my efforts to pull him up.

All of a sudden he feels twenty times lighter and I tumble back as I easily pull him up. He lands on me with a soft thump and my heart skips a beat.

Feeling my face warm, I hurriedly roll him off me and stand before rubbing my treacherous cheeks vigorously.

I was really growing to hate blushing.

Glancing to my left, I spot Nathaniel confusedly looking around the room. Walking up to him, I offer him my hand and pull him up. “Come on, I’ll get you out of here,” I state before leading him out to the balcony. Waving to Ladybug and Chat, I scoop him up and hop off the side.

He squeezes me tightly and I chuckle when he lets out a scream.

Landing on the ground, I set him down with a grin. “Fun, wasn’t it?” He looks up at me and gives me a look before shaking his head no. I shrug lazily before turning on my heel. “Be safe getting home!” I wink at him and hop on the side of the building and climb up to the roof. Giving him one last wave, I jump down and land in an alley before changing back.

Stepping onto the street, I nervously bite my cheek and fiddle with the charm in my hand. It was the least I could do for indirectly causing this whole mess. Spotting him round the corner, I take a deep breath and call out to him.

“Hey, Nathaniel,” I greet as casually as I can. “What are you doing out here so late at night?”

“E-Evan?” he stutters out and glances around, “I’m not too sure actually…”

My hands start to sweat so I hold out the small gift to him. “Well, I want you to have this,” he cautiously reaches his hand out and I drop it in his palm, "so, uh, happy birthday.”

He stares at it without a word before peaking up at me with a blush and shy smile. “Thank you, Evan.”

Blushing at such sincerity, I scratch the side of my head and look away.

“Um, would you like to walk to the bus stop together?” he asks suddenly as he hides his face with his hair.

I stiffen and rub my shoulder self-consciously. A part of me wanted to say no, but I was told to be willing to push boundaries when I could. “I’m not the best company I’m afraid, but if you’re okay with that…” I smile lightly and shove my hands in my pockets.

Nathaniel twiddles his thumbs and smiles timidly before nodding. “That’s okay, neither am I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I love my boi Adrien, Nathanael holds a special place in my heart. It's not going to turn into an actual love triangle or anything, but there's going to be some light fluff between the two scattered around. Nothing big, but enough that Nathanael might show up for a second or two every couple chapters. That being said, Adrien/Chat will still end up Evan's main focus.


	11. Short - Science Project

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just a quick note about a German phrase that's used: "Alles klar?"
> 
> It literally translates to “Everything alright?”. It’s often used as a casual greeting to people around the same age as the speaker. It basically means the same as “What’s up?” in English. 
> 
> Just a FYI since I try to have some context clues or outright translations when Evan uses German words.

Sighing as I overhear Chloe loudly talking about last night with Alya, I repress the urge to roll my eyes. We saved her life and she still complains. Speaking of last night…

Almost unconsciously, my eyes move to Marinette at her locker. I basically ditched the three of them yesterday after the attack. Nothing was really set in stone, but there was an expectation to help. And I hated letting people down.

Before I could pump myself up to approach her, Sabrina does so first and I quickly lose whatever steam I might have built up. Speaking to Sabrina was slightly less irritating than Chloe— _but only slightly_. Letting my mind wonder, I quietly keep putting away the rest of my things in my locker. The best thing to do would just wait until they were done.

“Heard you met certain masked heroes last night, Evan,” a familiar voice chimes from behind me excitably.

 _Alya._ Turning to her with a small smile, I nervously pat down any wrinkles on my shirt. “Nothing as great as you could imagine,” I say, smile becoming strained at the sight of the phone in her hand. “They just helped me out.”

“So…what was it like? Meeting the illustrious heroes of Paris?”

“Um, it was…okay? They’re nice...” My eyes nervously shift from her phone to the empty space beside her as my face warms. Being recorded was like this was nerve-wracking.

Alya nods, eagerly pressing for more. “I _mean_ —” she strains—“what did you think of them personally.”

“They’re…cool…?” I draw out almost questionably, not entirely sure what she wanted.

Sighing, she smiles lightly as she shakes her head and puts away her phone. “Thanks, Evan. Eloquent as ever.”

My ears warm as I look down. I was never really good with words—too many ways to mess it up. “Sorry…” I mumble stiffly, unsure what else to say.

“Nah, you’re fine, dude,” she replies easily. “Not everyone’s a natural when it comes to interviews.”

“Like Chloe?” I deadpan, crossing my arms.

Alya laughs with a grin. “Totally. That girl was _born_ for the spotlight.”

A smile tugs at the corner of my lips. She _was_ dramatic enough for the big screen, wasn’t she? Seeing Sabrina run off to the blonde out of the corner of my eye, I quickly remember why I was hanging out by the lockers. “I’ve gotta go, Alya. I have to talk to Marinette about the science project—sorry.” I apologize quickly, lowering my head.

With a dismissive wave of her hand, she says, “No problem, Evan, I’ve got to interview Nathanael anyway.” Quickly hurrying away as she shouts Nathanael’s name, she leaves the room in a flurry.

Shaking my head, I smile lightly. Poor Nathanael, Alya seemed like a force of nature when it came to anything Ladybug related. Turning my attention back to Marinette, and taking a deep breath, I do my best to keep my posture relaxed as possible as I walk over to her.

“ _Alles klar, Marinette_?” I greet as calmly as possible, clenching the strap of my bag nervously.

Jumping, she squeaks in surprise before spinning around to face me. “Good morning, Evan.” She smiles before furrowing her brows. “I mean, I’m just guessing that’s what you said. I don’t know since I don’t speak German—not that it isn’t a good language!” she flusters as she waves her hands around. “I know I shouldn’t assume but—ugh—sorry. Let me start over,” she puts her hand on her heart and takes a deep breath before looking up at me, “Good morning, Evan.”

I blink dumbly as I slowly process her speedy rambling. “Uh, good morning?—No, I mean its fine,” I correct quickly. “Sometimes I slip back into German if I’m not thinking…” remembering why I approached her, I gather my thoughts. “I actually came over to apologize about not contacting any of you last night about the project; I…had some personal issues that had to be dealt with, but I’m free today, if everyone wanted to…?” I trail off with creased brows and a light shrug.

“Talk about déjà vu,” she whispers with a quiet laugh before smiling apologetically. “Well, it turns out Sabrina and Chloe decided to do the presentation together.”

“Oh.” My eyes widen before I sigh. “I can’t say I’m surprised. So, what do you want to do now then?” I question, kneading my shoulder with another sigh.

She hums thoughtfully as she brings her hand to her chin. “We could do our own presentation? Then at least we won’t get in trouble if Chloe says we didn’t help.”

I nod in agreement. Anything was better than working with Chloe or Sabrina at this point.

“Great,” she says, smiling happily. “We could meet up in the library after school, if that’s okay?”

“It’s fine.” I nod with a small smile.

Running out of things to talk about, the air turns awkward before Alya suddenly appears with a grin. “Hey, guys,” she greets. “Everything figured out?”

Marinette replies positively as she closes her locker. “Yep, Evan and I have a full proof plan for the presentation.”

“That’s good,” Alya says happily. “Ours is coming along pretty great too. Adrien is totally smarter than I first thought.”

“Of course Adrien is smart!” Marinette says quickly, crossing her arms.

Alya raises her hands with a laugh. “Calm down, girl. I didn’t mean anything by it.”

Her posture relaxes. “I know, but Adrien is just so…” she looks away dreamily and I chuckle lightly.

From what I knew about her, she _really_ liked to talk about the blonde whenever she had the chance. And once she started, it was hard to get her to stop. Not wanting to be rude and leave in the middle of a conversation, I make sure to at least pay half attention to her lovesick rambling as I start thinking about the science presentation.

_Maybe a miniature model…_


	12. Rogercop

Sitting in the back of the class, I massage my shoulder as I listen to Mr. Dupain talk about his bakery. Today was career day so all we had to do was at least pretend to listen to parents talk about their job. Aunt Claire wanted to come, like _really_ badly, but Madeleine’s school was doing the same thing. She was upset and worried about hurting my feelings, but I was honestly fine with it. It wasn’t like this would be the first time I’ve been alone for a school function anyway.

Clapping as Mr. Dupain finishes, he tells us that Marinette has freshly baked croissants to give to the class as Mrs. Bustier thanks him and calls up Alya and her mom.

Watching as she passes out the food, she smiles at me as she hands me mine. We were…sorta friends, with some of the awkwardness lessened after the science project. Alya was still the driving force behind most interactions though.

Hearing the class clap, I finish off the rest of the croissant and focus back to the front. Seeing Marinette trip I wince, but relax when I see her giggling.

“Jeez, is there a day you’re _not_ tripping over something?” Chloe obnoxious voice makes me frown. She always had to bring the attention back to her, didn’t she?

Rolling my eyes, I move out of my seat and help Marinette pick up the ruined food.

Half paying attention to Sabrina’s dad, I place an armful of the food on her tray.

Marinette smiles at me thankfully. “Thanks, E—”

“My bracelet, it’s gone!” Chloe jumps out of her seat, “I had it a second ago!” She gasps and whirls around to face Marinette. “You…you stole it!”

“What!” Mariette eyes widen before she glares at the blonde. “What are you talking about?”

Chloe sneers and gets in her face. “You purposefully tripped on my bag so you could steal my bracelet!” She looks at Sabrina’s father and stomps her foot. “You’re a policeman, arrest her!”

Officer Roger blows a whistle and tries to calm the situation. “Now hold on, Miss Bourgeois. We don’t accuse without proof.” He wags his finger and look at the students. “Everyone calm down, please. Maybe you simply misplaced it.”

Chloe gasps. “You’re calling _me_ a liar? Daddy!”

The mayor points at Sabrina’s dad with a glare. “Roger, I demand you search this girl” he orders and Chloe looks at Marinette with a snicker.

The mayor approaches the desk with a glare. “Need I remind you that as mayor of this city I am your superior?”

I scoff and cross my arms. Now I understood where she got it from.

“But it’s against the law. I can’t just go—”

“Alright, then your fired,” the Mayor cuts him off quickly.

“Mayor, you can’t be serious,” Officer Roger pleads, “over a missing bracelet?”

“This is my daughter’s bracelet we’re talking about.” He slams the desk forcefully. “You’re incompetent and you’re fired. Get out!” He yells and points to the door.

Chloe crosses her arms and scoffs. “Good.”

I glare at Chloe. Couldn’t she just shut up?

“Let’s call Ladybug. She’ll actually do something.”

“Can’t you just shut up for two seconds?” I groan out through clenched teeth. “You just got a man fired over a stupid bracelet.”

The mayor turns around and crosses his arms. “Who do you think you are, talking to my daughter like that?”

“Your _daughter_ is a _Rotzgöre_ that only cares herself. Though I can see where she gets being a huge brat from!” I glare up at the supposed _respectable_ mayor before heading to the door.

“And where do you think you’re going?” he demands.

I stop at the door and look over my shoulder with a scowl. “To the bathroom,” I state before scoffing, “no wonder my aunt didn’t vote for you.” I fight back the urge to slam the door and angrily walk to the bathroom.

Stomping down the stairs and across the courtyard, I throw open the bathroom door with a growl. Leaning against the sink, I scratch at my head with a frustrated sigh. Looking at myself in the mirror with narrowed eyes, I touch the dark circles under my eyes before slumping in defeat. I looked like crap. Taking off my gloves I stick my hands under the hot water and scrub my hands together roughly. Some places—like the burn scar on the back of my hand—stings irritably from the harsh treatment but I pay it no mind. Right now it was all about washing away my negative feelings.

Already feeling calmer, I turn the water off and dry them before slipping my gloves back on. Hearing the sound of Mr. Bourgeois yelling at the principal, I shake my head. It seemed the Bourgeois family was a bunch show-offs that liked to throw their weight around.

“I guess all off the Bourgeois are a bit mean, huh?” Blann wonders from atop my head. I let out a quick laugh and scrub at my face with a grin. More yelling echoes in and he peaks at the door with wide eyes. “Oh man, he’s real angry, huh?”

“Sounds like it,” I stretch and roll my shoulders, “we should be safe going back to class though.”

He nods in agreement and flies down into my camera case.

Opening the door, I freeze when I spot a robot on the second floor. Quietly as possible, I head back in and Blann flies out of my bag. “Oh man, we better hurry, Evan!”

I nod and look at my bracelet. “Okay, Blann, ears up.”

Transforming, I quietly exit the bathroom. Peaking around the corner, I spot the cyborg walking out of the school. Rushing after him, I narrowly avoid tripping over Ladybug and land behind him. Seeing him aim for the mayor, Chat jumps from the roof and causes him to misfire.

“You’re obstructing justice, Chat Noir. You are going to pay for this.” He points his cannons at Chat.

Chat smirks. “You can add bodily harm to the charges.” He then dodges a shot from the cannon.

Gripping my tonfas, I rush at the robot and hit his back. Turning towards me, he fires and I quickly evade the projectile while Chat uses the distraction and climbs up his back for an attack.

The robot easily tosses him away into the recycling and he stares me down while I tense and prepare to move.

“Listen.” I glance over and see Ladybug. “You’re Sabrina’s dad and a good cop.”

I look at his face with narrowed eyes.

“Don’t let the evil person who gave you these powers make an evil cop out of you.”

My eyes widen slightly. That really was Officer Rogers.

He seems to shake out of a stupor. “Justice must prevail in the streets of Paris,” he states firmly before firing at Ladybug. 

She manages to miss the shots and slides down the railing before launching at him. Grabbing her foot, he sends her flying back into the school.

“Ladybug!” I yell worriedly and glare at him. Rushing at him, I skid to a fumbling stop and fall on the pavement when a very familiar blonde blocks my path.

“Mr. Rogercop!” Chloe yells, stomping up to him. “I’ve got a serious problem, worse than a bad hair day!”

He stares at me before turning to his car. “Come with me and we’ll talk about it.”

They both step into the car and I’m tempted to let her go. I mean, he’s obviously the bad guy so how thickheaded do you have to be to go with him?

“Chloe, no!” Chat scrambles out the garbage and glances between the car and me. “We have to get her, come on!” he yells before running after the police cruiser.

Sighing, because I know he’s right, I follow him and jump on the back of the car. Suddenly lifting in the air, it starts flying.

Now _that_ was a surprise.

Ladybug lands in-between Chat and me with a smile. “I bet you two missed me.” Her words soon morph into a scream as the car starts rolling in an attempt to throw us off.

After a moment it evens out and I let out a shaky laugh. Suddenly jerking forward, I barely manage to stop myself flying off the car as it slams to a stop. Seeing Chat fly off, I let out a panicked scream and get ready to jump after him before Ladybug stops me by the wrist and throws her yoyo around Chat. When he climbs up, I cry out happily as I throw my arms around him. With my heart in my throat, I stay silent and Chat, for once, doesn’t try to shake me off.

“Thanks for the lasso, lassie.” He thanks Ladybug, with a smirk no doubt. “And, Bunny, you don’t have to be so dramatic, I’m fine!”

“Yeah, yeah…” I grumble into the back of his head. Seeing Rogercop climb to the roof, I release Chat and stand.

Chat smirks up at him as he says, “Did I thank you for the lift?” Springing up at him, he’s knocked away and Ladybug and I jump at him.

Managing to fight the three of us off, he suddenly jumps and causes the car to start spinning.

As is spins rapidly, the three of us run across it to keep our balance.

Chat huffs and focuses on not falling. “Nice shoes. I could use a pair like that!”

I nod in agreement before yelling as Ladybug is smacked off.

“Grab onto me!” she yells as she throws her yoyo towards Chat.

Missing him by _that_ much, she lets out a fearful scream as she plummets to the ground.

Diving after her, I reach towards her and grasp her arm. Hearing Chat yell, I suddenly question my impulsive personality.

Feeling the rush of the air wiz by, I _really_ question my impulsive personality.

“So, uh, you have a plan for a safe landing?” I yell to Ladybug.

“Did you really jump after me without a plan?” she yells back as she crosses her arms.

I laugh guiltily as I look away from her.

Ladybug’s sigh is still somehow louder than the wind. “Grab my hand!” she yells as she reaches to me.

Following her orders, I grip her smaller hand without objection.

Using her yoyo, we swing to the ground with a rough touchdown. Landing on my back, I release Ladybug and let out an over-the-top sigh as she stands. Standing above me, she smiles with an eye-roll as she fans my face.

I grin up at her before hopping up. Glancing around, I try to think of a way to get back to the police cruiser. “Any idea—!” Something suddenly crashes into me and I slam into the ground with a yelp.

Momentarily disoriented, I groan and keep my face on the ground. This happens every time…

“Woo, talk about an emergency landing,” says Chat as he moves off my battered body.

I ignore the feeling in my stomach and get up with a groan; probably internal trauma or something. “You definitely owe me Chat…” I huff out and try to will away the weird self-conscious blush hidden behind my mask.

Chat throws his arm over my shoulder with a grin. “Sure thing.” I relax a bit (because, come on, this is Chat I’m getting all nervous about!) as he points to the smoking flying car. “But you owe me for that.”

“Let’s follow him,” Ladybug states before running toward the Eiffel tower.

Chat steps away from me and I find myself missing the contact. I frown at my whirling emotions and scrub at my face. My mind really needed to decide if it liked him close or not. Because I really didn’t understand a single thing I was feeling at all.

“I’ll race you!” Chat yells excitedly and I push the internal mutterings away.

I put my hands on my hips with a smirk. “Don’t think I’ll go easy on you, kitten!” I break into a run and pass by his shocked face and wink.

He grumbles something before trying to catch up to me. I wasn’t going to let him win today though.

Ladybug comes to a stop and watches the police car fly away. “There’s no point in running after him anyway. He’s way out of our reach now.”

“Well, if it’s the mayor he wants…” Chat trails off.

“He’ll be heading straight for the city hall.”

“Oh—” I cut in with a grin—“you got a plan?”

Ladybug just smirks and starts running towards city hall. “This time, I’ll race you two!”

Chat and I stare after her in surprise before grinning and chasing after her.

Spotting a group of police officers, we land behind them and look at the large TV displaying Rogercop.

“Ladybug, Chat Noir, and Lapin Blanc are now outlaws.”

My eyes widen. Outlaws?

“They must be hunted down and taken into custody immediately.”

I make a face and scoff. There was no way they’d obey an Akumatized villain, right?

The cops, without warning, charge at us and I dodge their hands and hop on top of a building. Huh, guess I was wrong? Landing next to Chat and Ladybug, I bite the inside of my cheek. Definitely not how I envisioned this going. “We should probably hide until we can figure something out…”

Ladybug nods with a frown. “Yeah, let’s go.”

\------------------------------------------------------------

Peaking around the corner at the city hall, I quickly duck back down.

“So now we’re the nation’s most wanted felons?” says Chat, frowning deeply.

Ladybug sits up and says, “We haven’t even done anything.”

“Exactly, you can’t accuse someone without proof.” He stands, completely fired up. “We should defend ourselves in court!”

Ladybug stands with him. “Not while Rogercop’s the Chief of Justice.”

Chat sighs and crosses his arms and mutters, “How many times have we saved Paris?”

I look up at both of them from my sitting spot on the roof. “The same thing happened with that copycat, Chat,” I huff out and look at the dark sky, “people like you until they don’t.”

“Don’t give up hope, Lapin. We’ll save Paris and set everything right.” Ladybug offers her hand and helps me up. She still saw so much potential in the world, huh? “If the two of you can cause a distraction, I can sneak up on him.”

I glance down at the police force and nod. It could work.

“Sound like a _purrfectly_ good plan, my lady,” Chat says with a smirk. Turing to me, he offers his hand with a wink. “Shall we see if you’re any good at dancing, bunny?”

My heart skips a beat and I grin. I had no idea how Ladybug could resist his charm. Taking his hand, I spin him towards me and laugh at his surprised face. “The real question,” I let him go with a wink, “is if you can keep up.” With my grin still in place, I take running leap off the building with Chat just behind me.

Landing in front of the policemen, Chat and I spin around each other before posing dramatically. With a smirk, Chat glances at me and says, “Something about Paris just makes you wanna dance.”

“You won’t be dancing when I’m done with you. Arrest them.” Rogercop demands filter from the TV.

“Looks like he won’t be joining us, bunny.”

Leaping out of an officer’s grasp, I grin and try to sound disappointed. “Aw, that’s too bad then.”

Easily dodging all of their reaching hands, the two of us laugh and I no doubt have a silly grin tugging at my face. Fighting alongside Chat was the best.

Another police officer comes at me, shoulders barred. Waiting until the last minute I flip over them and quickly grab the back of their riot uniform. Using my momentum, I send him flying over me—and into more officers—as I land. “So cool,” I mumble to myself with a grin before going back to fighting off the rest of the officers.

Finishing the last guard, Chat gives me a high-five and bows with a satisfied smirk. “Okay, show’s over. Sorry, no encore tonight!” We then quickly take off into the city hall to find Ladybug.

“I think I took down more guards than you,” Chat says as he runs beside me.

I let out a short laugh and look at him out of the corner of my eye. “In your dreams, kitten.” I tease before seeing the mayor’s open door and rushing through them.

Skidding to a halt, I see Ladybug jump from behind a coffee table to land next to us. Rogercop turns to us and blows his whistle and orders Chloe and her father to grab us. They run at us but are quickly tossed out of the office.

Seeing his plan failed, he starts shooting at us erratically.

Ducking under a table, Ladybug looks at us. “The Akuma must be in his whistle. We’ve got to get to it.”

“How?” Chat asks before the table shakes and we scatter as he fires at us once again.

“I’ll lead him around while you figure this out!” I yell to Ladybug before pointing at the cop with a grin. “Catch me if you can,” I taunt, taunting the tip of my foot against the floor.

A surge of adrenaline pumps through me and I dodge his attempt to hit me. Rushing around the room, my, I keep avoiding his shots with a grin before grabbing a lampshade and slamming it on his head with a snicker. Spotting the other two rushing to the other side of the room, I double my efforts to make him single in on me.

Dodging his speedy shots, I start to feel a little worn out. I pant but refuse to slow down. Whatever they were doing, they needed to do it fast. Doing my best to drag out my Miraculous Power, I soon collapse into a gasping mess as my muscles quiver. Still seeing no sign of a solution, I stare at Rogercop as he makes his way to me.

Before he can reach me, Chat slides under his legs and makes the floor rot underneath him. Falling into the floor, Ladybug is able to dodge his shots and cover his hands with mittens.

Tying them together with a belt, she takes his whistle and breaks it with her foot as he tries to stop her.

Hearing my miraculous bleep, I stand and stretch with a groan. Waving to Chat and Ladybug, I leap out the window and quickly rush to Aunt Claire’s.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone liked this chapter. It took me a little longer to finish, but I'm content with the end results. And don't worry, the chapter where Evan finally figures out how he feels is coming up super soon.


	13. Dark Cupid

“In most fairy tales the price breaks the spell by kissing the princess. Can anyone tell us why?” Mrs. Bustier looks around the room.

Rose can’t contain herself and says dreamily, “Because only love can conquer hate!”

I fight back the urge to roll my eyes. Kissing was sort of gross. Getting that close to someone and basically swapping bacteria? No thanks.

Max, being the typical know-it-all, tries to correct the teacher once again. She quickly shushes him before saying something to Adrien about paying attention.

To be honest, I wasn’t either.

Hearing the bell ring, I sigh in relief and roll my shoulder. All this Valentine’s Day talk was boring.

“Hey…” Nathanael turns to me nervously.

“Yeah?” I blink and glance over at my seatmate.

Nathanael brushes his hair back and fumbles with his bag. “Uh, I—” he stares at something behind me and frowns before shaking his head. “I’ll see you tomorrow!” He laughs nervously and rushes past me with a wave.

I narrow my eyes at his odd behavior (well, _odder_ behavior that is) before shrugging and standing up. It probably wasn’t any of my business anyway.

Heading to the door, I look at Marinette nosing around Adrien once again out of the corner of my eye. She was weird sometimes too. Adrien glances over at me by chance and I quickly look away and frown in embarrassment. Caught looking at the guy who hates your guts…

I knead at my shoulder with a sigh as I leave the classroom. Almost bumping into Alya, I fight down a blush. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Its fine, Evan.” She dismisses my apology with a smile. “You didn’t happen to see what Marinette was doing in there, did you?”

“Oh, she was creeping on Adrien,” I say simply, without thinking.

Alya stares at me blankly before bursting into laughter. Unsure what to do, I stand awkwardly and let her get it out of her system.

She finally takes a deep breath and dramatically wipes away a tear. “I guess that _is_ what she does, isn’t it?”

Fighting back a self-conscious blush, I scratch my cheek. “That was what she was doing though.”

“Oh, I totally believe you!” She chuckles and shakes her head. “That girl should just confess already.”

I nod without really thinking. I’ve never liked anyone in a romantic way so I couldn’t give good advice.

Her grin turns mischievous as she asks, “How about you? Anyone that sets your heart ablaze?”

I pause. _Set my heart ablaze?_ The only person to really ever make my heart act all funny was—My eyes widen and I look up from the ground. “N-No!” I state hurriedly as heat rushes across my face. Noticing Alya’s shocked look, I cover my mouth with my hands. “I, uh, gotta go,” I mumble pathetically before turning away from her.

Realizing I didn’t say goodbye, I freeze and bite the inside of my cheek. I didn’t want her to think I was rude. Turning and waving clumsily, I quickly head to the school’s entrance. 

Gripping the strap of my bag, I walk down the sidewalk with a frown. My pulse was racing and my face still felt hot. Hopefully Alya wouldn’t be mad about me running away. I look down at the ground and clench my fists. Aunt Claire would be down in the flower shop, so maybe I should finally ask her about how weird I felt around Chat sometimes.

Nodding to myself, I readjust my bag and quicken my pace to Aunt Claire’s. She was smart and knew a lot about basically everything.

Stepping into the flower shop, I spot Aunt Claire behind the counter tending to some plants. Biting the inside of my cheek, I swallow my pride and head over to her. “Aunt Claire,” I clear my throat, ignoring the burning in my cheeks, “I wanted to ask you something—if that’s alright with you?”

Her blue eyes sparkle and she all but throws the flowers away. “Of course, you can ask me anything!” She motions to the spot beside her with a giddy smile.

Leaning against the counter, I tug at my gloves nervously. Maybe I shouldn’t. But then again…what it I had another _moment_ , like I had in the tiny elevator? A chill runs through me and I thread my fingers together. No, I furrow my brows as I frown, I had to fix these weird feelings before they got worse.

“Um, whenever I’m around this one guy, I get a weird feeling in my stomach and my heart gets all funny and,” my face grows warmer and I stare at the wall, “well, I don’t know what’s wrong with me.”

Aunt Claire hums thoughtfully before smiling gently. “Evan, sweetie, I think you might _like_ him.”

“What?” I turn and stare blankly at her, not completely understanding. I mean, of course I liked him. He was amazing and cool and had beautiful eyes, not to mention the way he’d—

My eyes widen and I freeze. “There’s no way,” I choke out before shoving away from the counter. “I mean, it impossible. He’s my friend and there’s no way I’d…”

I remember the warm feeling whenever he’d touch me.

“…like…”

Or the way his smirk made my heart race.

“…him…?” I trail off as I remember the cramped elevator ride. My face explodes as my pulse seems to pound in my ears.

Covering my face with my hands, I sag against the counter with wide eyes. This was unreal. Being in love with Chat of all people? But the more I thought about it, the more the dots started to connect. The blushing, the way my heart got all crazy around him…everything. _I really liked Chat Noir._

I peak at Aunt Claire through my fingers. “What am I supposed to do now?”

“That’s up to you.” She smiles gently at me. “But whatever you do, you have my support.”

I groan internally. That wasn’t what I really wanted to here. I wanted a solution. I never liked anyone before and didn’t have the faintest idea what to do. Biting my cheek, I stand with a sigh. “Thanks, but I need to be alone for a bit,” I state with a small, awkward smile.

She nods knowingly. “I understand. But remember you can talk to me about whatever you want,” she offers earnestly before moving back to her plants.

Taking it as an okay to leave, I turn away and make my way up to my bedroom. Walking through the open door leading to the second floor, I pass by Madeleine sitting at the dining room table. Judging by the large amount of pink paper scattered around her, she must’ve been making valentines for her friends.

Leaving her alone, I continue up to my room and shut my door with a sigh. Before I could even contemplate my problem, Blann flies out of my camera case with a grin. Not wasting any time, he clings to my face with a squeak. “Yay! You finally figured out your feelings! Now…”

Half-listening to him wax on about me and Chat, I start taking off my gloves with a sigh. Blann was prone to go off on tangents about my future so I was used to it by now.

“All you have to do now is confess!”

I freeze and pull him off my cheek with a frown. “ _Hä?_ Are you serious? I can’t tell him.”

Puffing out his cheeks, he crosses his arms and kicks his legs wildly. “ _Whyyy?_ ” he whines loudly with a pout.

“Because,” I let him go with a sad smile, “there’s no way he could—”

“You don’t know that!” he cuts me off quickly.

I sit at the foot of my bed and ruffle my hair. “But I do, Blann.” I fall backwards on my bed with a sigh. It was a mistake to ask Aunt Claire about my feelings because now I had no idea what to _do_ about them.

Blann lands on my chest with a huff and tugs at my shirt as he starts fussing about how I should just tell Chat.

There was no way Chat would feel the same anyway. Even if he did—my heart skips a beat and I blush at the thought—he’d never be interested in normal me.

“Chat wouldn’t hate you if you told him,” Blann says after a moment of silence.

“Yeah, well,” I shrug lightly and roll on to my stomach. “He…” something bright red flashes by my balcony and I jump out of bed. “I think that was—”

“A villain!” Blann shouts eagerly before zooming to the window and pressing his face against the glass. “I don’t see them now. We better hurry!” He flies back to me and pulls at my shirt.

I quickly grab my gloves and shove them on as I rush down the stairs. Stumbling down all the two sets of stairs, I rush through the living room and passed a still hard working Madeleine and head down to the flower shop.

Jumping the last few steps, I quickly head to the back exit.

“Where are you going, Evan?”

I freeze as my mind stalls. I forgot about Aunt Claire. Turning towards her, I smile awkwardly and think of any excuse. “Um, I was going to meet with a—uh, friend of mine,” I stammer and silently hope she buys it.

She laces her fingers together with a hopeful smile.  “Are you going to meet that crush of yours?”

Butterflies erupt in my stomach and I quickly avert my eyes. “Y-Yeah,” I fumble out as my face grows hotter. She wasn’t wrong if I thought about it.

She claps happily and waves me away with an enthusiastic “good luck” as I close the door behind me.

Leaning against the door, I rub my (no doubt red) cheeks and take a deep breath. I could do this. All I had to do is act like I normally do. No biggie!

_Yeah, no biggie…_

Groaning, I pinch my cheeks and shove away from the door. Glancing around the empty alley, I unzip my camera case and Blann bursts out of it.

“We gotta hurry!” he pushes at my cheek as he begs me urgently.

I push him away with my finger. “Okay, Blann, ears up!”

Jumping up to the roof, I sweep my eyes across the sky. This person could fly, so realistically they’d be somewhere up high. Spotting two red figures moving around in the distance, my eyes widen and I quickly make my way to them. One of them had to be Ladybug!

Skidding to a halt as I see Ladybug fall over the edge of a building, I quickly throw a tonfa at his side and he turns around with a fierce glare. Catching it as it arches back to me, I stick my tongue out with a salute. Before I could say anything witty, he fires a black arrow at me with a sneer.

Quickly dodging it, I start running in the opposite direction because, hopefully, I could buy Ladybug enough time to think of a plan.

As soon as the chase starts, it ends just as fast. Duking behind a chimney, I peak around with furrowed brows. He seemed to give up rather quickly. I bite the inside of my cheek as an uneasy feeling settles in my stomach. They usually never gave up a chase like that.

With a frown, I cautiously make my way to the last place I saw Ladybug.

Leaping across the roof, I do a double-take as I spot that Cupid guy reaching for Chat. “Look out, Chat!” I yell as I jump and plant my foot on the high-fliers face. Not wasting any time, I quickly grab the blonde’s wrist and yank him up from the edge. Keeping an eye on the dazed villain, I tighten my grip and try to tug him the opposite direction.

Feeling him yank his arm out of my hold I turn towards with a reaching hand. “Chat, we gotta go!”

“Don’t touch me,” he snarls and my eyes widen when I finally look at him. The black lipstick was pretty obvious, but what drew my attention even more was the sneer underneath it. The look on his face was all too familiar; nothing but hate and contempt.  Letting my arm fall to my side, I try to keep my face neutral as the contents of my stomach threaten to come rushing up my throat.

Without any warning he swipes at me with a growl. Stumbling back, I clumsily try to avoid his sharp claws. One of them manages to graze my cheek before he launches at me again. Ignoring the sting, I dodge his blows as best I can. Feeling someone coming up behind me, I duck just in time to avoid Cupid’s arms and quickly survey the area. The problem was that, while I could probably outmaneuver Chat, two-on-one just wasn’t possible.

So I did the one thing I’m best at; running away.

Darting past Chat, I leap to the next rooftop and push myself as fast as I can without actually using my miraculous power.

Falling into an alleyway, I press my back against the brick wall and watch as the two pass over me. Breathing a sigh of relief, I finally allow myself to process the situation. Chat was obviously under the villains control—I flinch as I wipe away the blood trickling down my cheek—and _extremely_ homicidal. The way he looked at me…

My stomach lurches and I shake my head violently. No! I couldn’t get emotional now. Not when Ladybug—

Ladybug! My eyes widen and I shove away from the wall. If Chat was basically acting like a feral, who knows what he’d do to her! Peaking around the entrance of the alley, I nod sharply to myself and step onto the street. Hopefully she would still be at the hotel.

Cautiously glancing around the corner, I eye the building entrance and look around once again. “Looks clear,” I mutter under my breath before taking a small step forward.

Ladybug suddenly charges through the open doors while dragging Chloe behind her. Watching as she disappears around the corner, Sabrina follows closely with Cupid on her heels.

Rushing after them, I round the corner and see Ladybug urging Chloe forward with a shove and yell. I hurry to catch up to her when Chat suddenly lands in front of Ladybug with a smirk.

Cupid disregards the two and continues after the running blonde and her friend. Ladybug spots me and quickly yells, “Help those girls!”

With a nod, I pass her before glancing at Chat nervously. Seeing him sneer at me, I flinch and quickly look away.

Turning the corner, I come to a stop and grab at my stinging chest. I squeeze my eyes closed and try to drown out his mocking laugh that seemed to reverberate through my skull.

Chat looked at me like I was the gum stuck to the bottom of his shoe. My heart felt like it was breaking into little pieces as tears threaten to cloud my eyes.

No, he was just affected by whatever the villain did to him. They _weren’t his true feelings…_ they couldn’t be…

Hearing one of the girls scream, I shake my head and hurriedly make my way towards them. Save others before worrying about yourself, Evan. Spotting red streaking across the sky, I whistle loudly and he turns to me with a harsh glare. Smirking up at him, I dodge a black arrow shot my way and blow him a kiss.

This seems to enrage him further and he swoops down with his bow at the ready. Evading things have always been a talent, so it wasn’t even really a challenge to avoid his arrows. “You know, birdie—” I duck as another arrow zooms by—“what do your arrows even do?”

“Isn’t it obvious?” he says mockingly as he shoots another black arrow at me. “It gets rid of all those stupid lovey-dovey feelings people can’t seem to help but have!” He glares down at me with a curled lip.

Flipping over another arrow, my heart skips a beat. _Lovey-dovey_? Like normally being _in love_ with the person they now hate? Did that mean Chat could…?

My face quickly grows hot and I duck behind a food cart. Covering my cheeks with my hands, I stare at the ground with wide eyes. Was there actually a chance that Blann was right? That Chat could feel the same? A giddy feeling works its way up to my chest and I quickly shake my head. I had more important things to worry about right now!

Noticing a lack of arrows firing at me, I peak over the cart. Cupid was nowhere in sight and it was eerily quiet. I glance around as I stand before pulling out one of my tonfas. That guy probably grew tired of me and was looking for Ladybug. Finding her dot on the GPS, I put it away and stretch my legs before taking off in her direction.

Nearing the fountain, I duck behind a bus just in time to see Chat activate his cataclysm. “I’ve often wondered would happen if I used my cataclysm on someone.” Chat’s voice floats into my ears.

My eyes widen. There was no way I was letting him try it out on her! Hopping on top of the bus, I hide my nerves with a smirk. “Going to start the party without me, kitty cat?” I feign a hurt look, “That’s just too cruel!”

I focus on Chat as he quickly charges at me and barely miss Cupid’s arrow from the corner of my eye. Before I could try to evade more of his dark arrows, Ladybug jumps from behind the tree and stops them with her yoyo. “Keep the arrows off me while I focus on Chat!”

“Got it, boss-lady!” I chirp happily.

Activating my power, I quickly block an arrow with my tonfas and grin mockingly at the villain. “Think you can keep up, birdie?”

He lets out an angry yell and fires at me again. Leaping out of the way, I land on the fountain statue and stick my tongue out at him. Ducking an arrow, I lean forward and dodge another. Quickly avoiding yet another one by balancing on one foot, I duck and let out a giggle. With adrenaline flowing through my veins his arrows fly by me harmlessly.

Ladybug suddenly leaps up in the air and throws a candy heart at him. Watching as he struggles to get it unstuck from his head, Ladybug lands next to me. “Looks like you got yourself in a _sticky_ situation,” she says with a smirk.

He lets out a frustrated yell before forgetting his bow and flying at us full force. The both of us leap away but he manages to grab the back of my costume.

I try to break free to no avail. My adrenaline was running on empty and my body was getting achy. Flailing above the ground helplessly, I glare at him and grit my teeth. When I got loose…

“Chat Noir, her Miraculous,” he orders and my eyes widen. Looking at the ground, my stomach drops at the sight of Ladybug pinned to the ground by Chat.

“With pleasure,” says Chat with a cruel grin.

This wasn’t right! Chat couldn’t seriously do this! “Chat, don’t!” I plead as I claw at Cupid’s hand.

“Shut up!” he gives me a menacing glare before looking down at Ladybug. “Finally, I’ll find out who you are. You’re little secret will be out of the bag.”

I struggle harder and reach towards them. “Wait—” Ladybug quickly yanks him down into a kiss and I could practically hear my own heart shatter into a million pieces.

She throws Chat at Cupid, making him let go of my collar. Unable to support myself, my knees buckle and I fall to the ground as my ears pound painfully.

More yelling, but I wasn’t really listening.

The scene of them kissing replays over and over in my mind as my stomach heaves. My mouth waters as I lean forward. I was going to be sick.

Unheard words drift around me, but they sound a thousand miles away.

Tears start to build up and I take a shuddering breath. _Why_ …

“You okay down there?”

 _Chat._ Like a balloon popping, the world rushes back to me. Quickly blinking away the tears, I leap up and slap on a grin. I can’t bring myself to fully look at him so I focus on the lamppost behind him. “I’m fine!” my voice cracks and I clear my throat. “Just tired is all.” My smile feels fake and awkward but it’s the only thing stopping me from breaking down.

His eyes narrow before they widen, him quickly shoving past me. “Ladybug, wait! I have to tell you something!”

My chest throbs again painfully and my stomach churns, my mouth watering. Hearing my bracelet start to bleep erratically, I glance around for a safe place. Spotting the subway entrance, I rush to it.

Leaping over the railing and landing on the stairs, I duck into the dark underground and change back as I fall to my knees.

My eyes start to burn and I cover them with the palm of my hands. A bitter chuckle works its way up my throat as I grin at the stupidity of it all. I never had a chance with Chat, did I? How stupid was I, even _thinking_ he might have liked me. Letting out a hoarse laugh that dissolves into a sob, I choke back the urge to throw up.

Taking deep breaths, I lean back and scrub at my eyes. I was so stupid! It was _so_ obvious he liked her—I mean did I really think he’d like me? Vaguely aware of tiny paws massaging my back, I take a shuttering breath and stand.

“Evan…” Blann sniffles quietly and grips my shirt.

Tears start to form again so I rub my eyes harshly. “Let’s go home,” I whisper hoarsely with a sigh.

Blann whimpers plaintively and nuzzles my cheek before flying into my camera case. I wipe my eyes again and tiredly make my way back up the stairs. I had to keep it together.

Keeping my head low, I quickly make my way back home.

Nearing the flower shop, I duck into the alley and scrub at my eyes. I was almost there. Shuffling into the back entrance, I shut the door behind me and stare numbly at the floor.

“How’d it go?”

I clench my hands and look at Aunt Claire through watery eyes. “They—” my voice cracks and I clear my throat with a wobbly smile—“I don’t think he’s interested.”

She gasps and reaches for me. “Evan, sweetie…” Her hand hovers over my shoulder, unsure if it was okay to touch.

Seeing her worried look, my lip quivers and I take a ragged breath. A horrible, stomach churning feeling rushes over me and I collapse against her. Grabbing a handful of her shirt, I bury my face into her shoulder with a choked sob.

Quickly wrapping her arms around me, she hugs me tightly. “It’s okay, Evan,” she whispers quietly before falling silent.

I force down the urge to scream. It wasn’t fair! I just find out how I felt and already had my heart broken. It was so obvious he liked Ladybug, but I still blindly developed feelings for him like an idiot. It was stupid to think he could ever like someone like me. He was funny and quick-witted and I was just—

Taking a shuddering gasp, I clench my jaw and dig my face more into her shoulder. Love wasn’t as great as everyone said.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now this one ended on an angsty note, didn't it? I still hope everyone enjoyed it though.


	14. Sleeping Beauty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is an original idea, with Evan's aunt becoming Akumatized. I hope you enjoy.

_Silently leaning against the counter, worried thoughts drift in and out of my head. Poor Evan was still lethargic and a lot quieter than normal. He must have really liked that boy._

_Sighing, I set my coffee down and pull off my glasses. Maddie was upset too, as one would be seeing their ‘bestest cousin’ so heartbroken. Glancing at my flower vase, I pull out a rose and twirl it around. If only there was a way to make life for them happy and carefree…_

_“Sleeping Beauty, I am Hawk Moth.” A male voice echoes in my head. “You’ve watched those you care for the most get swept up in the harsh world that is reality. Now, I offer you the chance to show them how happy they can be when the world isn’t a problem…and all you have to do is offer something to me in return.”_

_A smile pulls across my face. “Thank you, my dear patron. I’m elated to have been chosen by you…”_

Jerking awake with a gasp, I look around frantically before realizing I was still at school. Scrubbing at my eyes, I lean back against my seat with a light groan. Eyeing the clock, it was almost lunch break so hopefully class wouldn’t drag on too long. I just wanted to go home.

My wish was granted as the sound of the bell echoes throughout the school. Grabbing my things as I watch Nino and his friend leave, I knead at my tense shoulder. The stress of everything was eating at me and making my body ache.

Standing and grabbing my bag I quickly make my way out the class. Bumping into Chloe, I bite back a groan when I see the indignant look on her face.

“Watch where you’re going, freak,” she screeches loudly.

I was too tired to deal with her. “ _Entschuldigung_ ,” I mutter halfheartedly as I turn away.

She gasps dramatically and grabs me by the shoulder as she yells, “What did you just call me?”

Immediately jerking out of her grip, I look at her stiffly. “I _said_ —” my hands clench almost painfully—“I’m sorry.”

“You better be,” she states with a flip of her hair as Sabrina giggles.

I _really_ wasn’t in the mood. Irritation sears through me and I narrow my eyes. She managed to press all the wrong buttons just by opening her mouth. Before I could say anything else, Alya and Marinette appear out of nowhere.

“Hey, Evan,” Alya greets as she slides between Chloe and me. “You’re coming with us to eat—” she grabs the fabric of my rolled up sleeves and tugs me away—“let’s go!” Too tired to question her, I let her pull me out of the classroom.

Alya glances around as we leave the school. “They should be around here somewhere…there they are!” I follow her gaze and my eyes widen. “Nino! Adrien! Over here!” she waves her free arm and uses the other to keep me in place.

“Alya what are you doing?” Marinette whisper-yells as she grabs Alya’s arm.

With a grin, she replies, “Two birds with one stone.”

Neither of us had the time to question her as the guys approach us.

“Hey, how’s it goin’?” Nino waves with a carefree grin.

Adrien’s smile turns a little tense when he sees me. “Thanks for inviting us for lunch,” he says politely.

Marinette seems to struggle with basic communication so Alya quickly takes over. “Don’t sweat it, the more the merrier I say.”

Swallowing heavily, I bite the inside of my cheek. Why would she set this up? It wasn’t a secret that Nino and I had... _problems_....not to mention that Marinette apparently couldn’t function in close proximity to Adrien. “Maybe I should…” I try to pull my sleeve out of Alya’s grip but she doesn’t budge.

“We better hurry guys.” She gives me a look as she yanks me next to Nino. He didn’t _look_ scared or anything by being next to me.

Unable to muster up the strength to object, my shoulders slump and I sigh quietly. If Nino was okay with it then I guess it was whatever.

Apparently sensing that I wasn’t going to run away, Alya releases my sleeve with a grin. “Let’s get going then,” she cheers as she waves us forward.

“Totally, I’m starving,” Nino agrees before looking at me. “Right, dude?”

My heart stalls as my eyes widen. He was willingly talking to me? “Ah, yeah,” I blurt out quickly before looking away with a frown. I was making a fool out of myself again.

As we turn the corner, Adrien trips over something and I quickly grab his arm. Carefully steadying him, something about this moment tickles the back of my brain. I could easily imagine Chat...

Quickly releasing Adrien’s arm like I’ve been burned, I look away and bite my cheek. Was I really bad enough that I was starting to hallucinate?

“Dude, walk much?” Nino laughs as he throws his arm around the blonde.

Adrien purses his lips. “Something tripped me,” he says and we all gasp when we look down.

“Is that a body?!” Marinette chokes out through her fingers.

Crouching down and taking her pulse, Adrien sighs in relief. “She’s alive, just…” he ruffles his hair and shrugs, “asleep or something, I think?”

Looking away from the motionless woman, I stiffen when I spot the other bodies down the street. This had to be the work of an Akuma. My heart wavers at the mere implication of meeting Chat. “I think we should head back to the school,” I say as I tug my glove nervously. The heroes of Paris would do just fine without me.

Marinette glances around wildly. “Uh, you guys go ahead. I’m going to, um, check on my parents at the bakery!” She quickly heads off in the opposite direction.

Alya reaches for her. “Wait, Mari—”

“I’ll meet you there, promise!” She yells as she disappears around the corner.

“But you’re going the wrong way…” she trails off before sighing. “That girl sometimes,” she shakes her head before turning around. “The four of us better—where’s Adrien?”

Nino shrugs. “That muchacho said he had to bail, but would meet us at the school.”

Narrowing my eyes, the back of my head prickles again. Unable to think of a reason why, I shake off the feeling and take a deep breath. The most important thing was getting Nino and Alya off the streets.

The three of us start heading back towards the school as I warily watch for anything suspicious. As we turn the corner, a handful of roses are suddenly thrown at us.

Quickly bringing my arm up to shield my face, I flinch as thorns nick my exposed skin.

A sudden heavy feeling weighs me down and I struggle to look at the assailant. My vision grows fuzzy and I can’t make anything out except for a bright red dress through my increasingly blurry eyes. As I start swaying, a hand gently grabs my shoulder to steady me. “Who are—”

\--

Sitting in Mr. Lacroix’s office, my leg bounces as my nerves run high. I had no idea why he called me in.

Mr. Lacroix leans forward with his elbows on his desk. “I need to talk to you about this photograph.” A picture is slid towards me.

Grabbing it, I quickly recognize it as one of the pictures I took a while ago—the one from the balcony—and grow nervous. “What about it?” I ask as I break into a cold sweat.

“I spoke with the magazine editors and we came to the decision we wanted to use it.”

Almost dropping the picture in shock, my mind stalls. “You…want to use _my_ photograph for _your_ magazine?”

He nods sharply while giving me an expectant stare.

Feeling flustered, I jump up and quickly say, “Of course, Mr. Lacroix, it—it would be an honor!”

He nods again and stands. “Congratulations, Evan,” he says as he offers his hand.

Shaking his hand, an uneasy feeling works its way up my spine. “Thank you, sir…” I trail off with furrowed brows. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but something wasn’t right. Mr. Lacroix never called people by their first name.

Realizing that he still had my hand, I try to release it and tense when he doesn’t let go. My pulse races as panic sweeps through my body. “Let me go,” I demand as I harshly pull back.

Tearing out of his grip, I fly backwards, and in the blink of an eye, everything around me changes. Falling to the ground painlessly, I look around the empty park. What just happened?

Reaching for my camera case, alarm sweeps through me when I find it gone from my neck. My bracelet! I gasp and shoot my gaze to my right wrist. Seeing it still there, I let out a shaky, relieved sigh. But that stilled left the question: where was Blann?

Anxiety starts to bubble up and I take several deep breaths. He was smart and resourceful and he knew how to get out of sticky situations. Worrying now was only going to make it harder to get out of wherever… _this_ was.

“Evan, we’ve been looking for you forever!”

Jumping in surprise, I spin around and see Alya and Nino running towards me. Looking them over with concern, I quickly ask, “Are you guys okay?”

“Yeah, though we haven’t been able to find a way to leave the park,” Nino sighs, rubbing the back of his neck.

“What do you mean?”

“Exactly like he said, whenever we try to leave we end up back there.” Alya points at the fountain in the middle of the park.

Biting the inside of my cheek as I look around, I ask, “What’s the last thing you guys remember?”

They’re both silent as they think. “Uh, like roses or something being thrown at us,” Nino eventually answers.

Nodding, I sigh and knead my tense shoulder. “How about you, Alya?” I question as I turn to her. Seeing her gone my stomach drops as I look around. This wasn’t good.

“What is even going on?” Nino groans as he turns to me. “Do you think she’ll come back like you did?”

Shrugging lightly, I truthfully tell him, “I have no idea. I’m not even sure where _we_ are.”

Nino collapses on the bench. “This, like, totally sucks.”

Looking at him, my stomach churns and I bite my cheek. Now was probably the best time to apologize since we were trapped here, right? But if it turns out he really hates me, then what would I do? It would be _super_ awkward stuck here with someone that didn’t like you, no matter what.

Breaking into a cold sweat, I swallow heavily and steel my nerves. Better late than never. “I’m sorry for punching you back then,” I blurt out quickly. “I was really irritated and stressed and then…” I look away from him, clenching my fists. “I’m sorry.”

Nino is silent for a moment before standing with a laugh. “I’ve already forgiven you about that, dude.”

“What?” I ask, bewildered. Was he joking?

He looks down as he scratches his head. “Yeah, you’re Aunt told me you had, like, a phobia of being touched, so I get it.” He shrugs, looking at me with a grin.

Not sure what else to say, I let out a light “Oh” as I scratch my cheek.

“Seriously, dude, don’t worry about it. I feel sorta bad for ruining your first day anyway.”

My eyes widen. “No, no, I should’ve had better control over myself. Don’t blame yourself,” I interject quickly.

Nino nods with a grin and offers his hand. “So, friends then?”

Butterflies erupt in my stomach and a giddy feeling races through me. “For real?” I choke out and he nods again. A smile tugs at me face and I take his hand. “Yeah!” I shout before clearing my throat as my face warms. “Uh, that’d be nice.”

“Cool,” he laughs. “Now all we have to do is find a way out.”

“Yeah, though I’m sure where to start…” I sigh as I glance around the park. An almost unnoticeable shift in the air causes my skin to prickle. “Nino, we should—” my eyes widen when I look back—“Aunt Claire?”

She was wearing a large red ball gown with roses all over it and an intricate mask covering her face, but it was still her.

“Oh, Evan, I’m so glad you and Nino finally made up!” She claps her hands and smiles happily. “Isn’t this dream world just superb?”

 _Dream world?_ “What are you talking about?”

“Oh,” she covers her mouth before smiling. “You’re probably pretty confused right now. Well, this is all a dream—” she motions to a tree and it changes into a gigantic flower—“and I can create whatever I want.”

My heart stops. Aunt Claire was the person Akumatized? “How’d this even happen?” 

Aunt Claire looks away and sighs dreamily. “I was worrying about you when, all of a sudden, my kind patron offered to give me the power to make you and Madeleine happy forever.” She had to be talking about Hawk Moth. “And so, Sleeping Beauty was born! But enough of that,” she waves her hand. “More importantly, I can make your wildest dreams come true. Just tell me what you want.”

A brief image of Chat appears in my mind and I ignore the sting in my chest as I shake my head. “I’m sorry, Aunt Claire, but I can’t. It wouldn’t be right…” I look down and scratch the back of my head, “it wouldn’t be real.”

She runs her fingers over the rose in her hand with a sad frown. “It would be here.”

Looking at her, I furrow my brows. “I know you have good intentions…but this isn’t right,” I say, hopelessly hoping I could somehow convince her.

Aunt Claire frown deepens and she takes my hands in hers. “Oh, sweetie, you don’t know what you’re talking about.” She lets go and turns around. “Now stay here while I finish my part of the deal.” She motions with the flower and starts to shimmer.

 _That must be where the Akuma is!_ Inching forward, I slowly reach towards her. Maybe if I could grab it...my heart jumps in my throat as I lunge forward and grab her by the back of her dress as she starts to disappear.

\--

Blinking open my eyes, I groan at the sudden bright light and sluggishly cover my face with my arm.

“Evan?” Blann sniffles, “Are you awake now?”

“Yeah…” I groan as I sit up. Noticing Nino and Alya sprawled on the sidewalk next to me, I decide to leave them for now. They were probably safer asleep anyway.

Blann quickly slams into my cheek and showers my face with kisses. “I was so worried, Evan! You fell and wouldn’t wake up! What happened?”

Ignoring my growing headache, I frown as the memories come rushing back. Those two would need my help, no matter how I felt right now. Pulling Blann off me, I give him a serious look and say, “We’ve got to go.”

“Go where?”

“To help Ladybug and Chat,” I stand with a groan. “Blann, ears up.”

As soon as I transform I jump to the roof of a nearby building. Sighing as I stretch, I had to admit it felt nice to be Lapin after so long.

Now, I wasn’t entirely sure where she’d be, but that bright red dress of hers wasn’t exactly subtle. So my best bet was to stick to the roofs and try to find either her or the others.

Ugh, my heart started to race at the mere thought.

Picking a random direction, I take off and keep my attention to the ground. The sooner we were able to wake people up, the better.

Easily spotting the bright dress, I skid to a stop and my eyes widen as I see Chat and Ladybug passed out on the ground with Aunt Claire approaching them. Quickly throwing one of my tonfas, it brushes right past Aunt Claire...no, Sleeping Beauty’s face and she looks up at me with a glare.

Catching my weapon as it zooms back to me, I pull my arm back in a silent threat of not missing this time.

Her glare worsens before she turns away with a huff. Pulling out her rose, she brings it to her face and disappears before my very eyes. She must be able to freely move between the real world and the dream world using that rose. Quickly putting away my tonfas, I jump down and rush to Chat’s side. Ignoring the hectic feelings waging inside me, I kneel beside him and look him over. The nick on his cheek was probably the thing that did him in.

Picking up his arm, I let it go and can't help but to chuckle as it smacks his face. It was concerning that he didn’t react, but judging from how freaked out Blann was, it was probably a really deep sleep.

Looking over at Ladybug, I then stand with a frown. They probably didn’t know they were in a dream yet, and as long as they were asleep they were easy targets. I sigh as I scratch my head. It was obvious what I needed to do. Lifting Chat up by the collar, I bring my hand back and mumble a quick apology before slapping his cheek.

As I stare down at him expectantly, his head sags to the side loosely as he lets out a light snore.

"Okay..." I lay him back down and cross my arms. Well, waking them up wasn’t going to work…

I kick some of the discarded roses at my feet and a plan suddenly hits me. I could put myself to sleep and wake them up from there! I mean, it somehow worked with me…and I didn’t have tons of options right now anyway.

Glancing around, I bite the inside my cheek. I should probably hide them in case Aunt Claire came back. My eyes trail up the building. The roof would be the safest bet, right? Nodding to myself, I take a deep breath and steel my nerves. With my heart in my throat, I reach down and carefully pick up Chat. His head lolls against my shoulder and I nervously adjust my grip. My legs tremble and I shake my head. Now wasn’t the time to think about those sorts of things.

Leaping up to the roof, I lay Chat down and go back for Ladybug. Laying her beside the blonde, my mouth goes dry as I stare down at the rose in my hand. I didn’t see any other option at this point.

Sitting next to Chat, my heart stutters and I swallow heavily. Glancing down at his hand, my face burns as I take it in mine. If the worst happened, I could at least say I was able to hold his hand, right? Intertwining his fingers with mine, I take a deep breath and bring the rose up to my face.

One…

Two…

Three!

I quickly tear the thorn across my cheek with a wince. Almost immediately, my eyes droop and I fall onto my back. Barely able to stay awake, my eyes slide closed as my mind drifts to sleep.

_I really hope this works…_

_\--_

Looking out at the glowing Eiffel tower, I furrow my brows and try to think of what I was doing last. I was…doing something important, right? But what…?

“Why the serious face, bunny?”

I jump and jerk my gaze to the side and see a familiar blonde. “Chat?”

He flips his hair with a smirk. “The one and only.”

I relax a little with a sigh. “What are we doing here?” I question as I look around.

Leaning against my shoulder, he puts his hand on top of mine. “Don’t you remember? It’s a _date_ , you silly rabbit.”

“A…A date?!” I choke out as a blush sweeps across my face. Since when—

“Of course, why wouldn’t I go out with the person I love?”

I look away and rub my steaming face. This was unreal, almost like it was...

My eyes widen. A dream! That’s right! I put myself asleep to try and wake Chat and Ladybug up. So that must mean that this Chat was just a figment of my imagination then. Looking back at him, I stare at his face with a critical eye.

He looked exactly like the real one, though it would be better if it was brighter out.

Almost as if reading my mind, the sun starts to rise and casts a warm glow on the city of Paris.

“It’s beautiful, isn’t it?” Dream Chat sighs out before turning to me with a wink. “Not as beautiful as me though, right?”

Despite me knowing this all wasn’t real, my heart still skips a very real beat. Unable to bring myself to look away, I gaze at his content smile as the soft sunlight glows against his face. My breath hitches and I can’t help but smile. He really was beautiful, wasn’t he?

Realizing that I was getting excited over a Chat that wasn’t even real, I close my eyes and force myself to look away. Mentally chastising myself, I take a deep breath before reopening them. I had to focus on getting out of this dream so I could get to the others.

Trying to pull away from him, his grip tightens and he gives me a sad look. “Where are you going?”

He may be a dream, but the guilt was real. “I have to go,” I force out and try to pry his hand off me to no avail.

“Why?” he whines as his claws dig painlessly into my arm. “If you would just give Sleeping Beauty your Miraculous, we could stay here together forever.” My eyes widen as his face blurs and his voice distorts. “ _Isn’t that what you want?_ ”

A shiver runs up my spine and I quickly rip my arm out of his hold. Stumbling back, my foot slips over the edge and I trip backwards off the building. Panicked thoughts race through my head a mile a minute as I try to find some way to catch myself.

Quickly approaching the ground, my stomach feels like it’s in my throat as I try to right myself. Unable to keep my eyes open as I near the cement, I squeeze them closed tightly. My whole body tenses as I brace for the hard impact.

When the collision never comes, I crack open an eye and gasp.  Overlooking the sunset city of Paris, I sit up and look around in wonder. I must have crashed into another dream or something. “Amazing…” I sigh out before shaking my head, I had to focus on finding the others.

Rounding the corner, I quickly step back as I see Chat...and Ladybug cuddled up to each other admiring the view.

A sharp pain pierces my heart and I smile bitterly. What else was I expecting? Chat loved Ladybug, so of course being with her would make him the happiest.

Seeing him pull away and turn to her, I duck behind the corner even more and peak my head out cautiously.

What I saw took my breath away.

The way he was looking at her was a thousand times more breathtaking than I could ever imagine. His eyes were twinkling as his mouth curled into a small, content smile as he took her hand in his.

I could see now, comparing Dream Chat to him was almost insulting.

My heart ached painfully and I took a shuddering breath. It hurt to admit, but he looked much happier than I could ever make him. I mean, not even _my_ Chat was as happy as he is now.

A bitter realization hits me. Even if he felt the same, we could never be like that. I was damaged and still being glued back together, while Ladybug was spotless and beautiful. He deserved the best chance at happiness, even if…

_Even if it wasn’t with me._

I rub the side of my head with a sad smile. It would be hard, but I wouldn’t avoid him or Ladybug anymore. It was time to be a man and accept the truth; he loved Ladybug and it wasn’t my right to try and take that away. In the end, his happiness was more way important than my silly crush.

Shoving my grim thoughts to the back of my mind, I decide that I’ve wasted enough time on myself. It was time to bring Chat out of this dream.

Taking a deep breath, I square my shoulders. If my theory on the dream jumping was right, then a burst of adrenaline would (hopefully) toss us into another dream in an attempt to keep us asleep. Pumping myself up, I rush at them and reach for Chat.

Crashing into him, he lets out a shout as we both go flying over the edge. I can’t hear him over the sound of the rushing wind, but he was no doubt saying something _really_ not nice. Keeping a tight hold on him, I bring him close and hope that I was right; otherwise this would be pretty embarrassing.

As we near the ground, the wind suddenly stops and I hesitantly open my eyes. A cloudless, bright blue sky greets me and I let go of Chat with a relieved sigh. I’ve never been so happy to be right.

“What do you think you’re doing?” Chat yells and grabs me by the shoulders as he straddles me. “Ladybug and I—”

“I’ve been looking for you guys forever!” a familiar feminine voice shouts.

Chat shifts and my face burns as I quickly shove him off and stand. I pointedly ignore all the thoughts about him trying to get into my brain.

“Seems like you three managed to find each other in the end, hmm?” Aunt Claire… _Sleeping Beauty_ , I mean, floats down from the sky with a tense smile. “I offer all of you the chance to be happy forever and this is how you repay me?”

Ladybug narrows her eyes. “Because none of it’s real.”

With a shocked face, Chat looks at the three of us. “This is a dream?”

She actually looks taken aback before frowning angrily. “If you want to be like that, fine—” she waves her color shifting rose and summons large flowers—“take their Miraculous’s please.”

Ladybug quickly summons her lucky charm and stares at the alarm clock in her hands.

Chat elbows my side with a smirk. “This is a pretty _alarming_ situation, isn’t it, Lapin?” he snickers before dodging a vine coming our way.

My heart flutters in my chest and I can’t but help to laugh. I forgot how great it was to hear his corny puns.

Ladybug rolls her eyes before flipping away from a vine and looking at me. “You’re the fastest, Lapin, so you need to get that rose before the alarm goes off. We’ll keep the flowers busy until then, but be quick.”

I nod and get ready to face off against Sleeping Beauty. Rushing towards her, I avoid the thorny vines trying to stop me and dodge past the large rose with a grin. Even if it was just a dream it still felt good to run around.

Drawing closer to her, she stumbles back and quickly summons a root to block me.

Skidding to a halt, I dart around it and advance on her once again. Seeing her summon trees to put more distance between us, I click my tongue in annoyance. I was pretty sure if I used my miraculous power now I’d just thrown into another dream.

Aunt Claire grows another set of roots and I quickly leap over them. Hearing Ladybug shout for me to hurry, I bite the inside of my cheek and rush at her again. I had to get that rose before we woke up.

The sound of the alarm rings through the air and I desperately make a last bid at grabbing the rose. Sliding through the flowers, I kick off to the left and rush at her from the side.

Using her delayed reaction to get closer, I manage to tear the rose from her grip just as the world disappears.

Jolting awake, I quickly cover my eyes and roll to my side. My head was pounding and I felt like I ate a handful of cotton. Hearing someone groan beside me, I shift and tiredly raise my arm.

Blinking as a familiar mop of blonde hair greets me, what happened in the dream rushes back to me. Bolting up, I bite back a groan and look at Ladybug. “Ladybug, I have the rose.”

Ladybug jumps up and takes the rose from me before crushes the colorful flower in the palm of her hand. Trapping the butterfly in her yoyo, she shouts “Miraculous Ladybug!” as she throws her yoyo in the air.

Letting out a sigh of relief, I slouch and try to ignore the headache behind my eyes. Seeing Chat rubbing his head, I force down the urge to run and offer him my hand. “Need a hand, kitty?”

Glaring up at me, he takes my hand and I pull him up with a grin. Apparently still a little wobbly, he crashes against me with a grunt.

Steadying myself, I let him lie against me and pray that he doesn’t hear the pounding of my heart. It takes everything in me to resist the urge to wrap my arms around him.

Pulling away after a moment, he grins at me. “So the bunny decided to finally come out of hiding, huh?”

My face burns as my heart skips a beat. Unable to fight my urges anymore, I sweep him in my arms and pull him flush against me. He really was too charming for his own good…

“Okay, okay. I get it.” He pats my back with a chuckle. “It’s obvious you missed seeing my beautiful face.”

Moving away from him slightly, I stare into his emerald eyes with a light smile. This was how I liked Chat, all sarcasm and wit.

My hand unconsciously cups his face as my thumb gently ghosts across his warm cheek. He had me wrapped around his little finger, didn’t he?

The sound of bleeping pulls me out of my wondering and I jerk away with a blush covering my face.

Seeing Ladybug gawking at me with an open mouth, my pulse pounds in my ears and I look away as I nervously clear my throat. “Uh…see you guys later,” I spill out and glance at Chat’s surprised face before rushing off in the opposite direction.

My feet instinctually lead me back to Aunt Claire’s and I quietly drop onto the balcony. Changing back as I enter my bedroom, Blann flies from my bracelet with a satisfied smirk.

Rubbing at my still warm cheek, I narrow my eyes at him suspiciously. “What?”

He covers his mouth as he giggles gleefully. “I just think I won’t have to worry anymore.”

Giving him a weird look, I open my door and head down to the living room/kitchen. Spotting Aunt Claire slouched over the counter nursing a cup of coffee; I bite my lip and clear my throat.

She jumps and lets out a yelp before calming down when she saw me. “Oh hey, sweetie, is it lunch break already?”

I nod silently and walk over to sit at the kitchen island. She deserved to know that I was going to try and get better. “Um, I’d like to talk to you about the boy I like, if that’s okay?”


	15. Horrificator

“Cut!” Nino shouts with an exasperated sigh as Mylene, the lead girl, cowers behind the teacher’s desk while Ivan takes off his mask and apologizes to her guiltily.

“Mylene, that’s like the tenth take and it’s only the first scene...” Nino sighs and shakes his head.

I tune out the conversation and look down at my script. I was dying guy #2, as of today a jealous ex, and in charge of documental photography. It was embarrassing to admit, but I highlighted my lines and spent too much time reciting them in the bathroom mirror. The dying civilian part was pretty easy to do, but the whole ‘ _jealous ex of the female lead_ ’ thing was awkward. When Nino gave me the revised copy this morning and told me I was getting a role upgrade, I wasn’t too happy. Truthfully, I’d much rather be behind the camera than in front of it.

In the end, I couldn’t say no to him for fear of breaking the brand new friendship we had. So, while my original lines were memorized (it was basically just screaming), I was anxious about the sudden change.

“If you ask me, he doesn’t even need a mask.” Chloe’s cackling pulls my attention from my reading. Did she really just insult him for no reason? I mean, I really didn’t have any right to judge her too harshly since I wasn’t exactly nice when I was younger. It still didn’t excuse her behavior or make me more inclined to let it go though.

“Ivan, put the mask back on. You’re playing the monster.” I shift my gaze to Nino as he gives orders to the actors. “And Mylene, we need you to stay in character.”

Watching as Mylene sings to herself, she lets out a panicked yelp when she backs into Adrien. It was a little ridiculous how afraid she was, but, once again, who was I to judge.

Though Chloe thinks differently and stands. “And the Oscar for best pathetic scaredy-cat, afraid of its own shadow goes to—” she smirks and giggles—“Mylene!”

I frown and narrow my eyes as irritation bubbles below my skin.  Was she serious? Did she not know that teasing someone like that, hurt that person a lot? That they’d play her words over and over in their head as it tore them down?

Scoffing quietly, I frown and mutter, “ _Rotzlöffel_.” Because that’s what she was; _a brat_.

“Seriously, Chloe?” Adrien scolds with a frown.

My brows raise in surprise, the blonde usually let her get away with murder.

She crosses her arms with a roll of her eyes. “Yeah, so what?”

Noticing tears build up in Mylene’s eyes, I stand as she runs out of the classroom with Marinette at her heels.

“Anyone gonna go after her?” the dark haired girl questions before Ivan throws off his mask and rushes after her.

My irritation grows and I glare at Chloe. “You’re an _assi_ , you know that Chloe?” I hiss out at her with a frown.

“Sorry, but I don’t understand loser, freak,” she sneers as Sabrina smirks haughtily from behind her.

I lean against the table as I narrow my eyes. “Really? You seem to be speaking it just fine.”

Her eyes widen as her mouth falls open. “You—you can’t say that to me!” she screeches and stomps her foot. “When I tell daddy—”

“Tell him what, Chloe? That you made fun of some girl because she was scared? Sorry—” I shake my head as I cross my arms—“but the only bad guy in this situation is you.”

She lets out an offended huff. “ _Me_ , the bad guy?”

“You are the bad guy,” Ivan states as he enters the room. “Mylene’s crying her eyes out in the bathroom right now thanks to you.”

“Hey, hey, everyone chill out.” Marinette waves her clipboard as the tension in the room builds. “Fighting isn’t going to bring Mylene back. I’m the producer and I’m going to do everything in my power to finish filming _tonight_.”

Taking a deep breath as Max starts prattling about the deadline, I sit back down and rub my cheek. It was probably really stupid of me to get in Chloe’s face like I did—a small part of me felt a little guilty over it—but she’s just so… _ugh!_

Taking another deep breath, I hear Adrien speak up. “Who’s gonna take Mylene’s part?”

Chloe doesn’t miss her chance. “Uh, me of course,” she offers oh so humbly.

“You haven’t even read the script,” Alya states as she crosses her arms.

Chloe simply brushes past her. “Of course I have…the first scene anyway.” Sitting on the teacher’s desk, she leans towards Adrien. “I can tell you it ends with a kiss between Agent Smith and Officer Jones.”

I furrow my brows. Was this part of Chloe’s plan or something? To make Mylene leave so she could kiss Adrien? If so, that was some underhanded manipulation.

“What?” I jump at the sudden loud yell. “You edited my script without even telling me? That’s low.” Alya scowls at Nino heatedly.

She didn’t know about the changes?

“Wait a minute, you mean our script.” Nino corrects as he motions between the two of them. “And besides, it’s a lot better now,” he quickly turns to me and I straighten in my seat, “right Evan?”

It feels like all eyes on me as I break into a cold sweat. Both he and Alya looked at me with anticipation, fully expecting me to back them up. “Uh…” I look away from them and clear my throat, “I don’t…”

“Oh, who cares who wrote what? We’ve got to film this thing right?” For once I’m happy about Chloe interrupting.

“She’s right. Mr. Damocles is only allowing us to use the school until 6pm sharp,” Max states before rambling off the exact time left, which I quickly ignore.

Seeing Marinette pull Alya to the back of the class, I turn my attention to Nino. “Is it all right to change stuff like that on your own?” I question gently, hoping I don’t upset him.

He shrugs off my concern. “It’s all cool, bro. It’ll make the movie ten times better, trust me.”

Marinette quickly rushes to the front and pulls everyone’s attention to her. “We can’t just let Mylene leave, just like that. It’s wrong. We all chose her to play the leading female role and we’re all in this movie together. She needs our support.” She heads to the door. “I’m gonna find her and bring her back.”

Not one to stay quiet, Chloe jumps down from the desk. “Always trying to save the day, aren’t you, Marinette? Good luck finding the filthy hole that scaredy-cat’s hiding in.”

I bury my face in arms and bite my tongue so I don’t run my mouth again. I don’t know how Adrien and Sabrina could be around her.

“Um…would you like some tea, Evan?”

“Hm?”  I look up at Nathanael and see a cup of tea in his hand. “Oh…thanks.” I sit up and take it from him with a small smile.

“No problem,” he mumbles as he brushes his hair back. “I, uh, thought you were pretty cool back there, telling Chloe off like that.”

My face warms as I take a drink of the tea. “I was a little worried everyone thought I was rude…”

“Not at all!” he says quickly, before whispering, “It’s just that everyone’s too afraid to say anything to her since her dad’s the mayor.”

I nod lightly. It didn’t really matter to me who she was either way.

Apparently not having anything else to say, he mumbles a flustered goodbye and rushes over to Rose and Juleka. Raising my brow at the intense whispering going on between the three, I quickly go back to minding my own business.

Picking up my camera from the table, I click through some of the pictures I took. A lot of them had pictures of the boom mic somewhere around the edge, and the other half was filled with people mid-blink. And _nobody_ looked good mid-blink—not even Adrien. I snort at the weird face he seems to be making in the last picture. It was cute, in a ridiculous sort of way.

“We need to get a move on,” Nino says, bringing my attention to the front. “We still have tons of scenes left to shoot before the end of the day.”

Chloe scoffs and blows at her nails. “It’s about time.” She drags Adrien to her side and glares at everyone. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

Everyone moves into place (except a sneaking away Alya) and I stand to the side with my camera trained on the two blondes. Alix snaps the set board and sighs, “Horrificator, take 15.”

Shouting action, Nino begins recording once again. But just as Chloe and Adrien are about to kiss, Marinette slams open the door with a yell. With a frustrated groan, Nino quickly shoves through the two actors, causing Adrien to bump into me.

“Sorry,” he offers quickly as he turns to me with an apologetic look. Though his expression tenses slightly when he sees it’s me.

Well, it was obvious he still didn’t like me.

Smiling awkwardly at him, I stare down at my camera as my stomach clenches. “It’s okay…” I mumble quietly as I lean against the teacher’s desk and busy myself with cycling through the photos once again.

“Can I look at them?” questions Adrien suddenly.

Lifting my gaze from the camera to him, I bite the inside of my cheek. I guess it wouldn’t hurt. “Sure.” I nod and hand the camera to him. Trying not to stare at him as he becomes absorbed in the pictures, I turn my attention to the yelling trio.

“Mylene’s supposed to be the star of this movie,” Marinette states quickly.

Nino throws up his arms. “We’re out of time. And—” he moves away from her—“from what I can see, Mylene is MIA. Let’s take it from the top, people.”

Hearing Adrien sigh, I look him as he hands my camera back to me. “These are pretty good.” He smiles before Juleka rushes in and starts touching up his makeup.

Even though he was just being nice, a small smile still tugs at my lips before sliding into a frown at the loud disagreement happening to my left. Pushing away from the teacher’s desk, I try my best to ignore the intense back-and-forth. Arguments really weren’t something I liked to get involved with.

Marinette then manages to say something to Chloe that makes her leave with Kim and Max, while Nino looks less than pleased. “Nice going, Miss Producer, now we have no lead _again_.”

She smiles. “Yeah, but now we’ve got rid of Chloe.”

“And now what?” Nino fires back.

“We go find Mylene. She’s here somewhere.”

“I told you, tic-toc, there’s no time,” Nino groans loudly. “We need a lead, now!”

Alya jumps in and grabs Marinette by the shoulders with a grin. “Marinette can do it!”

Quickly objecting to the idea, Alya pulls her away to talk privately. After a moment, they move to the front desk and wave me over.

Standing in front of the table, I smile at them. “So you’re going to be Agent Smith then, Marinette?” I question with a tilt of my head.

She nods. “I’m only doing this as a favor, though. When Mylene comes back she’ll have her role back,” she says as she grabs the script and starts looking it over.

Humming lightly, a thought hits me. “Are you going to want a picture of the kissing scene? Because I could save a copy.” I look down at her, but she squeals and hides her face behind the packet.

“I think that’s a yes,” Alya laughs as she pats Marinette’s back with a grin.

My mind starts working on the best lighting and angle to take the photo. After all, the picture was for a _friend_ and I didn’t want to let her down. “I’ve got to make some adjustments first—the lighting and angles and all that,” I explain as I step away from them.

Readjusting the lights to the best of my ability, I sweep though the scene once more before quickly getting into position as Nino tells everyone to get ready. My hope was to take an angled shot that a little more focused on Adrien to really capture his expression as they kissed.

“Everyone ready to roll?” Nino questions as he pulls out his phone. “Camera…Action!”

Marinette’s awkward delivery of, _“I’m not scared of that monster, Officer Jones”_ at least got an A for effort. Then with Adrien gently pulling her closer, I stare at them through the lens of my camera. Any moment now…

Suddenly the door’s thrown open and Chloe yells. She looked absolutely livid. “I knew it!” Stomping her foot, she turns her glare to Marinette and smirks. “Well played, Marinette. All that talk about working together, then you stab me right in the back!” She puts her hands on her hips with a smug look. “Your stupid movie won’t get into the festival if I’m not in it because my daddy’s one of the judges!”

Ready to take a step forward, horrified screams come from outside. Feeling uneasy, I put my camera back in its case and trail behind the others as they head down the stairs, calling for Kim and Max. After a moment, Marinette picks up a sweatband covered in pink goo and shows it to us.

Adrien gasps. “That’s Kim’s.”

This causes Nathanael to start freaking out and shouting about how they’ve vanished. “Or,” Alya interrupts. “They’re playing a sick joke on us.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I debate if I should transform. If it really was nothing but a prank, I’d feel pretty stupid. Maybe it’d be best to just wait for Ladybug and Chat.

“We should tell Principal Damocles what’s going on—” Marinette notices Nino filming and frowns—“Nino, come on. Stop filming!”

“Not a chance! This is just getting good,” Nino says, shaking his head.

As everyone rushes up the stairs to the Principal office, the eerie feeling of being watched makes my hair stand on end. Trying my best to be subtle, I slow down and look around.

“Come on, Evan,” Marinette yells from the top of the stairs. “We should probably stay together, just to be safe.”

Shaking off the weird feeling, I join the others as they knock on the door. “Mr. Damocles? Sir?” Alya calls out as she opens the door before everyone gasps covering at the slimy mess covering his office.

Focusing on the pink slime all over his desk, I move closer and stare down at it. It looked sticky with the consistency of mucus. Turning away with a grimace, I stick my hands in my pockets. Gross stuff like that made me queasy.

“Anyone seen Agent Smith?” Nino wonders before correcting himself. “Uh, I mean, Marinette.”

Everyone rushes out of the room and Alya gasps. Picking up a phone laying on the ground, she looks at me worriedly. “This is Marinette’s phone.”

Noticing the pink mucus blocking the sun, I grimace once again. Okay, so maybe now it was a good time to transform. Sneaking away as everyone hurriedly checks for a way out, I shut myself in a classroom as Blann flies out of hiding. “You ready to go, Blann?” When he nods, I take a deep breath and say, “Ears up.”

Leaving the room and seeing Chat land in front of the Principal’s office, I pinch my cheek and slap on a grin. Just be natural!

Landing next to him, I lean against the doorframe and cross my arms. “Yo!” I greet with a smile. “Is anyone else having a problem with this gross stuff?”

“Triple Legit!” Nino shouts, completely ecstatic as he starts filming us.

“Yeah, I tried to cut through the goo but it’s no good. It’s totally indestructible.” Chat shakes his head.

“Ah.” I rub my chin. “So stuck?”

Chat looks at me with a nod. “Stuck.”

“So, just stay put and try to relax, guys,” he states as he goes to throw his arm around my shoulder.

I quickly step forward and out of his reach. Keeping my distance was essential if I wanted to move on. Ignoring his curious gaze prickling the back of my neck, I keep my mouth pulled into a grin. Keeping up appearances was important.

Passing by me, he puts his hands behind his head. “Shall the three of us take a stroll?” He glances at me and Ladybug.

Trailing after him, I sit on the window sill and bring my knee to my chest.

Chat looks at us as he leans against the wall. “We know Hawk Moth’s taken another innocent victim somewhere in school.”

“And there’s only one way to get rid of this pink goo and get everyone out of here…”

Ladybug glances at me and I perk up as I say, “Capture the Akuma.”

“We’d better find this… _thing_ first, and its prisoners.” She crosses her arms with a thoughtful look.

Suddenly a phone is shoved into our conversation. “Don’t mind me,” Nino waves his hand with giddy excitement, “finding missing peeps, and solving this crazy mystery with the heroes of Paris! This movie’s gonna be _so_ swank.”

Smiling briefly, Ladybug brushes past him. “Stay together, right behind us—” she grabs the unmoving Nino—“that means you too, Spielberg!”

As everyone follows us closely, we head down the stairs and across the courtyard. Being extra careful so I don’t touch the gross pink mucus, I grimace when my foot touches the corner of a puddle. “This stuff is so gross.”

“What?” Chat glances at me, smirk lighting up his face. “Don’t like being in _sticky_ situations?”

Recoiling as my hand lands right in a pile of goo stuck to the railing, I shake it off with another grimace. “You could say that.”

Entering the homeroom, we spot an orange sneaker on the floor.

“Anyone recognize that shoe?” Chat questions as he looks around…rather suspiciously?

“That’s Adrien’s shoe.” Nino looks up from his phone briefly.

Kneeling over it, a _really_ not nice odor assaults my delicate sensibilities. Jumping up as I cover my nose, I turn away and fan the air. “Blech, that guy needs some odor eater or something.”

“Hey!” Chat squawks with an offended look. “I—”

“That’s weird, there’s no pink slime here,” Ladybug cuts him off as she stares down at the smelly shoe.

“Yes there is,” Nathanael speaks up as he kneels by the desk.

A tail suddenly wraps around him and pulls him around the corner with a scream. Violently throwing the desk across the room, a gross looking monster roars angrily.  Shouting for everyone to run, Ladybug narrows her eyes at the Akumatized victim as it grows larger.

Juleka stares up at it with an amazed face. “Awesome.” It roars at her and she grins. “So awesome.”

I stare at her with a bewildered expression. It wasn’t the least bit ‘awesome’; that thing was sticky and gross. It probably smelled like that nasty slime little kids played with.

Just as she’s about to be slimed, Ladybug pulls her out of the room by her arm.

“Ew.”Chat’s face screws up as he gives the thing a once over as it turn to him. “What’s your name? Drool-ator?”

Quickly spinning his staff, he blocks a ball of smile _thrown up at him_. “Cats aren’t afraid of slimy toads like you!” he boasts, though I’m only half-listening, because that thing _threw up at him_! As if it could get any grosser.

My eyes widen as a ball of pink mucus is suddenly spit my way. Quickly dodging it, I stare at the puddle before glaring up at the monster. “That’s disgusting!” I shout, thoroughly grossed out. “You have any ide—”

Ladybug grabs my arm and yanks me to the door with Nino. “We better find out where that Akuma is!”

Chat lands next to her and stares at the monster. “I don’t see anything, just miles of slime.”

It throws up at us again and I let out a panicked yelp as I jump back and over the railing. It follows us down with a snarl as Nathanael shouts for help, still wrapped in its tail.

Watching as it grows even bigger; I pull out my tonfas and glare at it.

“Fear…its fear that gives it its strength,” Ladybug says suddenly. Fighting back a torrent of pink throw up, she staggers back from the force of it.

Pushing down my disgust, I rush at the monster and jump in the air.  Landing on its head, I leap off it and hit it before landing on the stairs causing it to immediately turn to me with a roar before spitting a ball of snot at me.

Seizing the opportunity, Ladybug wraps her yoyo around its arm as she flips over it. When she lands on the opposite side, she uses the metal bannister as a shield while Chat leaps in the air with a yell.

Quickly covered in slime, he ends up stuck against the railing while the monster swings Ladybug around and traps her on the basketball hoop.

Turning its attention to me, it spits out a glob of mucus. Throwing myself to the side, I roll into a crouch and leap to the second floor. Gripping my tonfas, my eyes widen as it dismisses me to go after the other students. Quickly rushing at it across the railing, I jump on its head before flipping off.

Landing with a slide, I stand as I tense for the next move. Turning to me with a roar, it starts vomiting an endless stream of mucus and I hastily jump out of the way. Landing on the railing, I slip on some slime and my heart leaps to my throat as I fall to the ground.

As soon as I hit the ground I’m covered in a torrent of gross mucus. Stuck in place on my back, I try to pull myself free but groan in disgust when I can’t move. _This was extremely gross_. Hearing screams, I crane my head back and see it running off with another person.

“The more people scared people are of it the more powerful it gets!” Ladybug yells and I look at her upside-down. “By defeating fear, we defeat it!”

“Okay, but first we’ve got to get out of this sticky situation before it dries.” Chat extends his staff and cracks the basketball board.

Ladybug lets out a squeal as it shatters and lands in a crouch. Quickly freeing me and Chat, she rushes to the room the monster shut itself in. Unable to pull it open, she turns to us. “Did you guys see how it just left Ivan alone?” She looks down with a thoughtful look before gasping. “I think the monster _is Mylene!_ ”

The remaining students run up to us. “Where are Sabrina and Chloe?” Alya questions as they approach.

“We’ll find them; don’t worry…” she looks at me and Chat, “if we can find a way out of here.”

Flinging my arm around her shoulder, I wink. “Don’t worry, bug, with your quick wit we’ll get out of here no problem!” I reassure with a grin in hopes to ease the tension.

She smiles and rolls her eyes before shoving me away. “We should—”

Loud screaming suddenly comes from the science room and we all rush towards the noise without a word. Forcing open the door, I spot more pink slime on the ground.

“We’re too late,” Chat says as he glances around.

“But look,” Ladybug kneels next to the puddle, “we can track the monster.”

Quickly standing, she rushes out of the room with us at her heels as the trail leads us to the basement door.

Nino giggles and pumps his fist in the air. “I’m so amped!”

“Turn your amp down to about four, will ya?” Chat says as he glances back at him.

Scratching the back of his head, he smiles guiltily and says, “My bad…”

Turning back to the door, Chat swings it open and we continue to follow the trail of slime to a room full of eggs.

“Anybody in here?” Ladybug shouts. Hearing multiple muffled yes, she starts listing off classmates names.

Moving to an egg, I start trying to pry it open. Finding it completely stuck together, I frown and wipe my hands on my leg. There was no way I could open this.

The monster suddenly shows itself and blocks the exit with slime. Jumping down with a growl, it stares Ladybug down with a sneer. Before it could grab her, Chat throws a ball of snot at the side of its head.

As it tries to hit him with snot, I throw my tonfa at its head. Dodging a stream of slime as it focuses on me I jump onto a pipe and use it to land on the second floor. Activating my Miraculous, I easily sidestep another ball and leap in front of it. Circling around it as it tries to hit me, I duck a swipe of its tail.

While its attention is on me, Chat uses his Cataclysm to rust the pipes. As they clatter down I roll out of the way as they form a makeshift cage around the Akumatized villain.

Before I could do anything, Ladybug shoves a boxful of paperclips in my hands. “Okay, we’re all going to sing.”

“Sing?” Chat lands next to her and smiles. “So that’s you plan.”

“The only way to get through this is to get your fear under control—” she turns to me and my classmates—“You all know Smelly Wolf, don’t you?”

I panic and quickly shake my head. “I don’t!” I interject quickly. It sounded like a French kid song and I grew up with German ones.

Chat gives me a doubtful look while Ladybug nods and points at the box in my hands. “Just try to keep along with the beat, okay?”

Nodding eagerly, I put on a serious face. Just shaking the box whenever I felt it was appropriate, my eyes widen as the monster starts to shrink.

By the time the song ended, the monster was the size of a cat. Leaping into Ivan’s arms, it purrs and nuzzles into him.

“That’s the same button I gave Mylene…” Ivan states as he pets the still purring monster.

Ladybug perks up and says, “That’s where the Akuma is.” Pulling the button off, she breaks it and out flies the Akuma.

While she works her Ladybug magic, I slip away and quickly transform back. Sneaking around the corner, I join my classmates as casually as I can. Seeing Ladybug and Chat fist bump, a bittersweet feeling bubbles up inside. They looked good together. Smiling lightly, I turn away and shove my hands in my pockets. As long as he was happy…

_right?_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope this chapter was okay. There was some, albeit extremely light, Adrien and Evan interaction finally, so yay for that. I also plan for some Evan and Chat one-on-one in the near future as well. But we'll see.


	16. Darkblade

“I can’t believe Bourgeois won _again_ ,” Aunt Claire sighs as she watches the news from the dinner table.

Maddie swallows the last of her toast and looks at her mom curiously. “Why do you hate Mayor Bourgeois so much, mom?”

With a sigh, she takes a drink of her coffee. “I don’t hate him; it’s just that he likes to throw his weight around.” She turns the TV channel with a frown. “He once ordered flowers and actually had the nerve to demand a discount since he was the mayor.”

So that’s were Chloe probably _also_ got her entitlement from. Big surprise.

Noticing the time, I swallow the last of my orange juice and grab my bag. “I should probably leave or I’ll be late,” I state as I set my dishes to the sink.

“Don’t forget your appointment with your therapist is today,” Aunt Claire says quickly.

Nodding as I readjust my messenger bag, I ruffle Maddie’s hair as I pass by. Grinning lightly at her indignant shout, I look over at Aunt Claire. “At the end of school right?”

With a happy smile on her face, she nods. “Yeah, I’ll pick you up at the front of the school.”

I nod again before opening the door that leads downstairs. Turning back to them, I smile. “I’ll see you guys later.”

Quickly heading down the stairs, I make the sure the backdoor closes behind me before heading to school.

Walking into the school, I head to my locker and start putting my books away.

“Morning, Evan,” Alya greets from behind me.

Closing my locker, I turn to her with a light smile. I still wasn’t completely used to being greeted by others. “Good morning.” I notice a lack of Marinette and furrow my brows. “Where’s Marinette?”

“That girl is always late,” she explains with a wave of her hand.

“Oh.” My eyes widen slightly. Now that she mentioned it…“Does she live far away of something?”

She shakes her head and puts a hand on her hip. “She lives right down the street; her parents own the Dupain-Cheng bakery.” Her eyes look at me curiously. “How about you? You always seem to get here early.”

I shrug and tug at my glove. “My house is just around the corner.”

Alya nods thoughtfully, but before she can say anything else, the bell rings loudly. Smiling up at me, she motions to the open door. “We better get going.”

Following after her, I listen to her ramble about her blog as we walk up the stairs.

Entering the classroom, I wave goodbye to her as I move to my seat. Unpacking my stuff, Mrs. Bustier grabs the classes’ attention.

“Good Morning everyone,” she greets as Chloe and Sabrina stand next to her, “Chloe is running for the class representative position and Sabrina will be her deputy. Are there any other candidates?”

Kim raises his hand but is quickly scared off by the glare the two send his way.

The door is suddenly thrown open as Marinette stumbles in with a blush. “I’m sorry! I...uh…the bus…” she starts coughing, “dry throat,” she chokes out before sitting in her seat and blocking her face from the teacher.

Huffing with a grin into the palm of my hand, I turn my attention away from her. Class rep sounded interesting, but between learning photography from Mr. Lacroix, my bi-monthly counseling, and being the illustrious hero ‘ _Lapin Blanc_ ’, I definitely didn’t have the time…though I really didn’t really want Chloe winning either.

Mrs. Bustier sighs. “Alright. I’ll give you all until the end of lunch to decide if you want to be a candidate.” She sends Chloe and Sabrina back to their seats and quickly starts the class.

As soon as the bell rings, I gather my stuff from my desk. As I’m shoving everything into my bag, a shadow falls over me.

“I hope you aren’t planning on running for Class rep,” an irritating voice cuts through my thoughts.

Looking up at the blonde, I roll my eyes and stand. “I don’t have any plans to run for anything, Chloe,” I scratch the side of my head with a sigh, “besides, you’re a lot better at ordering people around than I could ever be.”

“Of course I am,” she crosses her arms with a haughty smirk, “but make sure you’re not talked into it or I’ll be _very_ unhappy.”

Nodding half-heartedly, I move around her and leave the classroom. I planned on eating at the park and taking some photographs of the birds during lunch.

Don’t get me wrong, hanging out with Alya and Marinette was nice, but I needed space sometimes. Going from zero friends to three (Alya, Marinette, and now Nino) in such a short amount of time was equally amazing and nerve-wracking.

Seeing the girls caught up in talking to the other students, I easily leave the school without problem.

Quickly reaching the park, I find a secluded patch of grass and sit down. The park was mostly empty around this time since people were either working or at school.

Unzipping my camera case, Blann peaks his head out before flying out with a grin. Settling on my knee, he stretches and looks up at me. “Did you bring any strawberries?”

Laughing quietly, I pull out my lunch and set it in front of me. “Don’t I always?” I ask with a smile.

His eyes sparkle and he quickly zooms into the paper bag. The sound of a container being opened and the excited squeak that follows makes me chuckle.

Jumping at the loud caw that sounds from beside me, I look down at a lone magpie. “Well, hello to you too, _Kleine Dieb_.”

He caws in return before bouncing to my bagged lunch. Pecking at it, he turns to me and caws impatiently.

“What was that, Evan?” Blann asks through a mouthful of food.

“Just hold on,” I say to the bird as I reach into the bag and pull out a small bag of nuts. “I’d stay in there if I was you, Blann. The _little thief_ decided to visit for lunch.”

The rustling stops and a loud whine comes from the bag. “Scare it away!”

“It’s fine Blann.” I pour the nuts and seeds on the ground and watch as it starts pecking at them. “Just don’t come out of the bag unless you want to be carried away again.” I chuckle at the memory as I pull out my camera.

The small Kwami huffs from inside the bag. “Easy for you to say! You weren’t swooped up from the ground and almost eaten!”

True. It wasn’t funny at first, seeing the tiny rabbit there one second and then carried away the next. In fact it was one of the most panicky moments of my life. I probably looked like a fool, chasing after a bird that seemed to be toying with me. After what felt like hours, I had to climb a tree and grab Blann from its nest.

Looking at the Magpie from my camera lens, I snap a couple pictures. It always was a great subject.

After that whole ordeal, the bird would antagonize me every time I visited the park. We didn’t make up until I started bringing food to appease him. Now we were thick as thieves.

My stomach growls and I reluctantly put down my camera. Pulling out my sandwich, I take a bite and watch the _Little Thief_ quickly eat. Finishing the food I laid out, it caws at me once before flying away.

Realizing that I’ve wasted enough time, I put my camera away completely and start eating.

Lunch break seemed to fly by after that and I arrived back at school just in time for the bell to ring.

As I sit in my seat, I roll my shoulder and stretch slowly.

“So, are there any new candidates who would want to run against Chloe and Sabrina?” the teacher questions as she looks around the room.

The classroom remains silent as no one raises their hand.

“Given that Chloe and Sabrina are the only candidates, there’s no point in voting.” She shrugs. “So, Chloe and Sabrina—”

“I’ll run!” Marinette shouts loudly as she jumps up.

“Wonderful!” Mrs. Bustier praises. “You’ll need to develop you campaign and have a speech ready by tomorrow. We’ll vote then!”

My brows rise as I stare at the back of Marinette’s head. That was pretty brave of her.

After class ends, I pack my things and quickly make my way down the stairs. Spotting Marinette and Alya surrounded by three of my other classmates, I bite the inside of my cheek and approach her.

“Um…” I clear my throat and they all stop talking to stare at me. My face warms at the attention, but I fight back the urge to run away. “I just wanted to tell you good luck is all, so…good luck?” it came out more like a question, but judging by the two girls’ smiles, the message got across. “Well, I’ll see you guys tomorrow…” I trail off and glance at the other students, “you guys too.”

Ivan nods silently before looking away as Rose smiles happily. “You too, Evan!”

“See ya tomorrow, dude,” Nino laughs.

A pleased feeling blooms in my chest and I smile at them before hurrying towards the exit. I shouldn’t keep Aunt Claire waiting.

\-------------------------

Standing in the therapist’s office, Dr. Beaumont talks to Aunt Claire about the next appointment. “Evan seems to be doing extremely well. He seems to be fine with initiating touch with his gloves on, but I’d like you to bring his cousin next time for the exposure therapy, so we can start with skin-to-skin contact,” he explains as he marks his calendar with my name. “And I’d like him to keep exercising because it seems to help a lot.”

“Madeleine would love to come,” Aunt Claire says as she takes the appointment card.

I rub my shoulder and stare down at the kinetic balls. It was actually being Lapin Blanc that helped, not that I could tell _him_ that.

Dr. Beaumont bids us goodbye as we leave the office. Exiting the building, I take a deep breath. Talking to him was equally exhausting and reassuring. Feeling drained, I glance at Aunt Claire. “Is it okay if I walk home?”

Her eyes widen but she nods. “Of course. Call—” she seems to remember I don’t have a phone—“Just make sure you’re careful, okay?”

“Promise.” I awkwardly hug her with one arm before rushing off with a red face. It still felt weird touching others like that.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I slow my pace as I walk along the side of the river. Mulling over everything that that was talked about the past hour, I trip over something and barely manage to catch myself.

Looking down with a glare, my eyes widen at the sight of Chat’s staff. “What are you doing here?” I mutter as I pick it up. He’d never just leave it…

A black blur swings from under the bridge and, lo and behold, Chat lands in front of me.

I quickly look him over and relax. He looked unharmed for the most part.

With a grin, he holds out his hand. “Mind giving me my staff back? It’s a- _paw_ -ling how useless l am without it.”

Chuckling lightly, I hand it to him with a light smile. “Just as a reference, where should I avoid going for now?”

Spinning the staff in his hand, he smirks. “I’d avoid the city hall if I was you.”

Nodding silently, I rub my cheek in thought. I’d have to go there ASAP after he left.

Feeling his stare, I glance at him with a light blush. “Is something wrong, Chat Noir?”

His gaze seems to zero in on my gloved hands and I quickly grow nervous. “So what’s the deal with the gloves anyway?”

I stiffen and refuse to meet his eyes. He was one of the last people I wanted to know about my past. “Don’t you have people to save or something?” I ask curtly as my hands ball into fists.

He crosses his arms and huffs. “I was just asking, jeez.”

Guilt swirls in my stomach and I frown. I didn’t mean for it to sound so rude! Seeing him turn to leave, I panic and grab his wrist. I didn’t want him to hate me, no matter who I was.

“What are you doing?” he asks as he looks at me with narrowed eyes.

Tensing even more, I bite the inside of my cheek. “I’m sorry,” I apologize quickly so he doesn’t leave. “I-I didn’t mean it like that. It’s just something I don’t like talking about, so please don’t misunderstand.” I let him go and smile guiltily.

He regards me for a moment before nodding. “It’s okay, dude…but you’re right, I do have a city to save.” He salutes me with a wink before leaping away.

Watching him go, I slump to the ground as butterflies destroy my stomach. Covering my burning face with my hands, I take a shaky breath. _He was so cool._

Taking another moment to collect myself, I stand and rush under the bridge. Ducking into a shaded area, Blann flies out of my camera case and giggles as he gives me a knowing grin.

Before he can say anything I bring up my bracelet and say, “Ears up.”

Jumping onto the bridge, I spare a look at the dozens of locks before running off to the city hall.

Perching on the roof, I watch the large group of knights as they stand to attention behind what looks like the head knight. “Bourgeois, pathetic knave, come hither and do battle!”

I raise my eyebrows. He even spoke olden French.  Oh, and more importantly, he apparently wanted to fight the mayor.

“Ask my secretary for an appointment!” Mr. Bourgeois yells before quickly shutting the doors.

The head knight cackles and raises his sword. “Bow down to Darkblade or feel the wrath of mine sword.

The other knights start chanting, “ _Par le Fer_ ” as they charge the city hall.

Leaping down, I pull out my tonfas. Looks like it was time to step in. Rushing at one of the knights, Chat’s staff zooms at them and takes three out.

Seeing Darkblade point his sword at him, I quickly kick the main knight’s back. Seeing him stumble forward, I grin as I dart away from his swinging sword. “Need any help, Chat?” I ask as I duck under another knight’s arm and strike its side.

With his hands on his hips, Chat smirks arrogantly. “Please, I have this under— _whoa!_ ” a group of knights pile on top of him and cut him off.

Shaking my head, I flip over Darkblade and rush towards the pile. When one of them looks up, I skid into a spin and knock it off with a kick to the face.

Apparently now light enough, Chat knocks them off and grins. “That was a nice warmup.”

Before I can say anything, Darkblade jumps at us with a roar. Rolling out of the way, he manages to cut the tip of my costume’s ear off.

Leaping up, the sounds of metal clashing make me whirl around and my eyes widen. Watching as Chat fences the red knight I spot the follower knights advancing.

Whistling, I quickly pulling their attention to me and dodge their spears. Taking them down with a strike to the side, I hop back and roll my shoulders. No matter how many I knocked out, more seemed to appear.

Quickly overwhelmed, I grab Chat’s wrist and rush the opposite direction.

“Hey!” he shouts, struggling to get out of my grip. “I almost had him!”

Ignoring him, I pull him along as my eyes scan for anywhere to hide. There were too many to fight without Ladybug’s help.

Spotting a small, dark opening, I nod to myself—it would have to do.

Darting into it, I shove Chat’s back against the wall and cover his complaining mouth. Hearing the knights draw closer, I press against him and hold my breath as I stare out from out hiding place.

As they quickly clamor past us, the clatter of their armor grows distant enough for me to relax.

“That was close,” I sigh out as I lean my forehead against the cool brick. Hearing his muffled reply, I hurriedly rip my hand from his mouth and jerk away. “Sorry, sorry,” I laugh awkwardly as my heart thunders in my chest.

Chat clears his throat and crosses his arms, refusing to look at me. “Whatever, I could’ve totally beaten him one on one.”

Rolling my eyes, a grin spreads across my face. How was he cool one second then cute the next? I pinch my cheek and shake my head. It wasn’t time for those kinds of thoughts.

Peaking around the corner and seeing no one, I glance back at Chat. “It should be okay now.”

“Well let’s go!” He pushes my back and I stumble out into the light. “If you can keep them running after you, I can defeat that Darkblade by myself,” he says as he starts running back towards the front.

Easily catching up to him, I grin. “Oh? Are you sure you just don’t want to impress your little bugaboo?”

“I’d be lying if I said that wasn’t a little part of it,” he says with a smirk as he turns the corner.

Taking a deep breath, I follow after him and ignore the ache in my chest.

Before we can reach the front, a group of knights round the corner and charge at us. Quickly throwing a Tonfa at the leading knight, I cause him to fall. Unable to stop their momentum, they start tripping over themselves. It only stops them for the moment, but that was all I needed.

“C’mon, Chat!” I shout as I adjust my grip on my weapons.

He knocks away a knight before rushing towards me. “I’m coming!”

I quickly turn and start running the other way with him. As we near the corner of the building, another group of knights come clattering around it.

Skidding to a stop, I look back and realize that we’ve been boxed in. Forced against the building wall, I plant myself in front of Chat with a glare. I didn’t have a plan, but hopefully one of us would come up with one.

Ladybug’s yoyo suddenly descends and dangles in front of my face. “Chat, Lapin, up here,” she yells from above.

Grabbing it, I make sure I have a hold of the blonde’s wrist as we’re quickly pulled up. Crashing through the open window, I skid face-first against the floor with a groan as Chat rolls past me.

She rubs the back of her head with a guilty smile. “Sorry guys, I was busy doing damage control inside.”

Sitting up, I rub my sore face with a groan and give her a thumbs-up.

Chat look at her from his upside-down spot and shrugs. “I was managing just fine by myself you know.” He grins. “But it’s always nice to see you.”

Hearing Darkblade order something from outside, I rush to the window and gasp. “Uh, you guys? They’re building a human ladder.”

They quickly rush to the window and look at the chaos happening below. “We need to knock them off!” Ladybug quickly jumps into action while Chat and I follow.

Easily collapsing the human towers, we high-five before turning our attention back outside.

I lean out of the window as my eyes widen. “Is that a catapult?” I ask with amazement. “I’ve never seen a real one before.” Leaning too far, my hand slips and I fall forward.

“Woah, bunny!” Ladybug grabs me by the belt and pulls me back.

“Ha-ha that was close. Thanks!” I smile at her before looking back out the window.

“Why’re they going to the roof?” Chat questions before one of them smacks the wall by the window. “Well, at least some of them anyway…”

Ladybug furrows her brows before exclaiming, “The flag!”

Transfixed on the soaring knights, I glance at her questionably. “What do you mean?”

“I think he’s trying to change the flag. We better hurry to the roof.”

Shoving away from the window (a little reluctantly) I trail behind them to the rooftop.

Reaching the lower part of the roof, Ladybug looks up at Darkblade. “The Akuma must be in his sword.”

“How’re we gonna get a hold of it?” Chat questions.

As she pulls out her yoyo she says, “By getting me close to him.” Quickly throwing it and wrapping it around the knights arm, she swings up to him.

Reaching for his sword, she’s swiftly cast aside and tumbles back down.

Wincing in sympathy, I rub my shoulder and look away. That looked like it hurt.

“Don’t let him get his banner!” she yells as she sits up.

Moving quickly, Chat knocks over the tower of knights with a grunt.

Smiling at him, the wind is knocked out of me when as the knights’ collapse on me and Chat.

With both of my arms held away from my side, I kick my legs wildly. “Let me go you, you rusty piece of metal!” I yell angrily.

An uneasy feeling suddenly prickles the back of my neck and I whip my eyes up to the sky. An unnatural darkness spreads from the top of the flag to the rest of the city. “Oh, that isn’t good.”

Staining my eyes, I notice in the distance people changing as the dark circle retracts back. “Oh, that _really_ isn’t good.”

Laughing victoriously, Darkblade points his sword at Ladybug. “Soon thou shalt join my army, you venomous insect!”

Struggling more, I catch Chat’s eye and he motions to the knight on his left.

What did he—Oh! My eyes light up in understanding and I nod quickly.

“Not so fast!” Chat yells before giving me the go ahead.

Quickly aiming my shot, I swing my leg and kick the knight in the crouch.

Seeing him crumple down with a groan, I move to the side as Chat does the same to mine. The two of us shake off our captors and I focus on keeping the other knights from reaching us.

“Well, Chat, time to shine!” I wink at him before jumping down and fighting the charging people.

Dodging a spike thrust my way; I swing my tonfa and knock them out. “A brilliant plan would be great about now, Bug!” I yell as I block another hit.

“Working on it!” she yells back before gasping. “I got it!”

Trusting that she does, I pull down someone trying to climb up to Chat and Darkblade. Just buy her time, Evan.

Shoved from behind, I fall forward and quickly roll to my back. Seeing the blade of the spike heading straight towards my head, I tense and close my eyes fearfully. I couldn’t dodge this.

Just as the blade’s about to hit me, the dark swirling cloud disappears and they freeze. Not wasting any time, I scramble back and place a hand against my hammering chest. Seeing the butterflies sweep through the streets, I look around at the confused people on the roof. They’d probably need help getting down.

Looking around for Chat and Ladybug, I groan silently when all I see is civilians around me. They left me, didn’t they? With a resigned sigh, I put my tonfas away and turn to the group with a smile. This would take a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more light Evan and Chat interaction. Nothing actually substantial, but we're getting there. As always, I hope you liked the chapter.


	17. The Mime

Staring up at the ceiling, I roughly scrub at my eyes with a frown as fragments of my nightmare drift through my head almost mockingly. Forget to take your sleeping meds once and memories seep through your dreams like an infection. Looking down at the still sleeping Kwami by my side, I swallow dryly and try to ignore the churning of my stomach. There was no way I could go back to sleep now.

Carefully easing out of bed, I roll my shoulders with a quiet sigh. I didn’t want to wake Blann—he dealt with my nightmares often enough—so my eyes trail to the glass door. Maybe some fresh air would calm my nerves.

Stepping onto the balcony, I lean against the railing and run a hand through my messy hair. The normally bustling sounds of the city were now just a faint whisper in the dark. The silence usually calmed me, but now it just made me feel alone.

I wonder what Chat was doing now? Probably sleeping, but…

A deep longing settles in my chest as I bury my face into my arms. “I wanna see him,” I mumble thoughtlessly with a sigh. Quickly realizing what I just said, my head shoots up and I scold myself for such selfish thoughts.

Looking for something to distract me, I move my gaze to the large house across the street. The Agreste mansion was, as mansions usually are, large and extravagant. I’ve only ever seen Mr. Agreste once, with him leaving Mr. Lacroix’s office the same time I arrived. The others talked about how he was a famous fashion designer…or something. I don’t know. I never really paid attention to idle gossip.

Seeing the sky start to brighten, I shove away from the railing and rub my eyes. I really needed to try and get some more sleep. Heading back into my room I carefully close the door and shuffle over to my bed. Quietly slipping back under the covers, my eyes close with a sigh.

Jolting awake at the sound of knocking, I blink groggily and rub my eyes. Glancing at the clock, I realize that I’ve slept longer than I thought. “Come in,” I say hoarsely as I tiredly sit up.

“I just wanted to know if—” Aunt Claire steps into my room and her eyes widen—“oh, I’m sorry! I didn’t mean to wake you up.”

I shake my head as I stifle a yawn. “It’s fine. What did you need?”

She steps further into my room. “Well, I just wanted to know where you wanted to eat when we left.”

“Uh, it doesn’t matter to me,” I answer as I scratch the side of my head.

Aunt Claire nods with a thoughtful look before smiling at me. “Get ready and we’ll leave in a bit, okay?” With a light smile, she closes the door and goes back down the stairs.

With my aunt gone Blann flies out from his hiding place, quickly turning on the light and sitting at the foot of my bed. “I’m so excited! This is my first time going to a play!” he squeaks with an excited grin.

I smile at him as I stand. “Me too,” I say as I stretch my stiff muscles before pulling off my pajamas, moving towards my dresser.

“Do you think I could sneak in some strawberries?” questions Blann suddenly.

I chuckle lightly while pulling on a clean white shirt and blue jeans. “I don’t think so.”

“I figured,” he huffs before settling on my shoulder and changing the subject. “Do you think any of your friends will be there?”

With a shrug, I tie my green flannel around my waist and slip on my gloves. I had no idea.

Seeing that I’m finished dressing, the Kwami flies to my dresser and slips into my camera case. Grabbing it as I open my door, I head down to the second floor.

As I walk down the stairs into the living room, Madeleine smiles as she bounces in her seat. “Are you ready?” she questions quickly.

I nod with a smile as I run my fingers through my hair, halfheartedly trying to straighten it out.

“Great, now we just have to wait for mom!” she smiles excitably before rolling her eyes with a groan, “Though she takes _forever_ to get ready.”

Laughing quietly as I sit on the loveseat, I say, “You sound really excited.”

“I am! It’ll be my first time seeing Fred Haprele live,” she states enthusiastically.

Assuming he’s some sort of well-known actor, I nod politely as I knead my shoulder. I’d have to look him up later if I liked the play.

“Everyone ready?” Aunt Claire asks as she descends the stairs.

Nearly vibrating from excitement alone, the redhead leaps up from the couch with an excited shout.

Standing, (a little less energetically) I nod with a light smile towards my aunt.

She smiles happily and grabs her keys from the counter. “Okay, let’s get going then.”

\------------------------------------

Driving away from the restaurant and towards the theatre, Madeleine bounces in her seat with barely contained excitement.

“Calm down, Maddie,” Aunt Claire laughs as she drives behind a silver car.

The redhead blows a raspberry. “Well I didn’t know Evan never saw a play before!”

With a roll of her eyes, Aunt Claire laughs again. “Not everyone is a musical nut like you,” she counters. “I don’t— _whoa!_ ” she suddenly slams on the breaks just in time to stop the car from slamming into the one in front of us.

With my heart racing, my eyes widen when I spot Ladybug next to the vehicle. Sweeping my gaze away from her, I quickly spot an Akumatized villain down the road.

“I’ve got a word or two I’d like to say to that driver,” Aunt Claire mumbles irritably as she unbuckles her seatbelt.

“Wait!” I grab her arm and give her a desperate look. “There’s an Akumatized person out there. We have to find a place to hide.” Seeing her nod, I look around and bite my cheek. “We can go through the back door and hide in one of the shops.”

As we scramble into the back, Aunt Claire flings open the door and pulls Madeleine along as we run. Seeing both of them focused on reaching a safe place, I sneak away and duck behind a vacant corner.

Making sure I’m alone, I open my camera case and look at the rabbit Kwami that flies out of it. “Blann, ears up.”

Quickly transforming, I step out of hiding and rush towards the sounds of fighting. Seeing the Mime towering over Ladybug, I quickly throw my tonfa at him.

With it bouncing off the back of his head, it quickly arches back to me. Staggering the mime-looking man, I adjust my grip and get ready to charge at him.

Chat’s staff suddenly hits his side and knocks him away. “Keep those hands to yourself, clown,” Chat says before getting ready to fight the villain. “It’s okay, I’ve got this.”

Ladybug smiles as he runs towards the mime. “My pleasure, Chat Noir.”

With his staff high in the air, the blonde moves closer before seeming to slam into something. He tumbles back roughly and I hold in a wince.

I knew how it felt.

A clinking sound comes from the mime as he moves his hand in front of him tauntingly.

The three of us move to him and, to my genuine surprise, are met with invisible jail bars. The mime tips his hat to us arrogantly before turning away.

“Apparently, not seeing is believing…” Ladybug sighs out from beside me.

Raising a brow, I lean against the invisible bars and cross my arms. “Almost feels like cheating.”

Riled up, Chat ignores the both of us. “We can’t let him go like that,” he grumbles as he stomps away.

Suddenly falling backwards, I let out a yelp as I land on the ground. Waving my arm around in an attempt to feel the invisible bars, my hand doesn’t connect with anything. Huh, no more bars I guess.

Hearing a car start, I turn around and watch as the villain seems to drive away. As I stand, Chat shoots past me and stumbles when he doesn’t hit the invisible barrier.

Holding in a snicker, I shout to him, “You did it, Chat!”

Ladybug groans. “I wish he did.” She puts her hands on her hips with a frown. “When he started miming the car, the bars disappeared...” Throwing her yoyo, she quickly swings away without a word.

“Rude,” I mumble before shooting a grin at Chat. “Beat you to her!” I taunt before taking off after her.

Hearing Chat behind me, I keep my gaze on Ladybug for the next move. Seeing her zero-in on the invisible car, Chat and I jump after her.

Landing on the car with a thump, the mime looks up in surprise.

“Nice ride,” Chat muses. “But if I was you I’d would’ve at least made it a convertible.”

With a glare, he presses on the gas and I quickly cling to the roof as it weaves through traffic. Nearing a tour bus, Ladybug shouts, “He’s one of the actors from the theatre troupe! He’s after that bus!”

Turning the corner, the mime jumps out of the invisible car and leaves it racing down the road. Looking ahead, my eyes widen as we quickly draw closer to a crosswalk. Jumping down as Ladybug swings into the driver’s seat, I rush towards the mother and child.

Grabbing the women’s arm, I quickly yank them out of the way of the unseen car. Ushering the two away, the sound of tires screeching brings my attention to Ladybug and Chat.

Seeing them still, I let out a relieved sigh. “That was a close call,” I say, putting my hands on my hips.

“Yeah,” Chat agrees before grinning at Ladybug, “not bad for driving an invisible car.” He stands and crosses his arms. “Course, they’ll never believe that we just saved their lives.”

“Oh come on, kitty.” I grin as I look up at him. “You’re a Hero of Paris. People would love to be rescued by you.”

He smirks and cups his chin with his hand. “They would, wouldn’t—!” he suddenly falls as the car seems to disappear from beneath them.

Ladybug stands looks around. “We’ve got to catch up with that bus before he does,” she states, her blue eyes narrowed at me. “Can you get us there, Lapin?”

My eyes widen before I grin. “Of course,” I agree with a quick nod.

Activating my Miraculous, I scoop Chat and Ladybug up under my arms and shoot off down the road. Weaving through traffic, I smirk at the mime as I pass him by and draw closer to the bus.

Quickly jumping onto the roof, my knees nearly buckle at the added weight of both heroes. Unwinding my arms from around the two, I look at them with an expectant grin.

“I’ll never get used to that…” Ladybug sighs out as she shakes her head.

Chat throws his arm over my shoulder with a smirk. “I don’t know, Ladybug, I thought it was pretty _pawesome_.”

My skin tingles at the contact and I quickly duck out of his hold with a nervous laugh. “Any idea where the Akuma is?” I question loudly as I swallow my embarrassment. Physical contact was still a no-no right now.

“It’s inside his hat,” Ladybug states.

Chat looks at her curiously. “How’d you know that?”

“I have hidden talents, trust me on this one,” she quips.

A loud, erratic bleeping suddenly comes from my Miraculous and I look down at my bracelet with a frown. I couldn’t really afford to change back now…

Ladybug grabs me by the arm and looks up at me. “Go,” she says firmly before turning to the approaching villain.

“But—” more erratic bleeping cuts me off—“fine…” My frown deepens and I reluctantly jump off the bus. As soon as my feet hit the pavement, I take off and find a secluded place to change back.

Catching Blann as he falls from my bracelet, I smile at him before slipping him into my camera case. I’d have to find him some food.

Stepping out of my hiding place as casually as I can, I glance around the street for any source of food. Most stores closed during an Akuma attack, save for a few. I also didn’t bother taking any money with me since we were just going to a play. Frowning at my own stupidity, I scratch the side of my head with a frustrated sigh. I’d still have to look.

Keeping a sharp eye out for any open businesses, I walk through the quickly vacating streets. Nearing the Eiffel Tower, my eyes widen at the sight of the stalled bus. Rushing to it without really thinking, I nearly trip over myself at the sound of Aunt Claire shouting.

“Evan! We were so worried something happened to you!” she cries as she pulls me into a tight hug, Madeleine quickly following suit.

Tensing at the unexpected contact, I clear my throat nervously. “I’m fine,” I mumble awkwardly as I pat her back with my free hand.

She pulls away with a disapproving frown as Madeleine remains clinging to me. “What happened?”

My brain stalls momentarily and I blurt out the first thing that pops on my head. “I-I saw the guy I liked and wanted to make sure he…got away okay?” I screw my eyes closed and silently hope she bought it. It came out more like a question, but it was the best excuse I had right now.

She’s quiet for a moment before letting out a long sigh. “Just…let me know before you go running off like that. I was scared something bad happened.”

A guilty feeling bubbles in my stomach and I nod silently as I avoid her gaze. I really didn’t mean to worry either of them like that.

“Evan, sweetie, look at me,” she instructs gently and I nervously look into her blue eyes. “I’m not mad at you, okay? Like I said, I was just worried that something happened to you.”

The guilt in me lessens and I smile lightly at her. She really wasn’t the type to really lie about these sorts of things.

“Look!” Madeleine pulls away and points behind me with wide eyes, “They’re fighting the bad guy!”

Turning round, my heart seems to stop as Chat is roughly thrown to the ground and Ladybug is stopped by an invisible sword threatening to impale her.

Only half listening as Aunt Claire tries to pull me away, my heartbeat pounds in my ears as jumbled thoughts race through my mind. Seeing the mime grab Chat’s hand, one thing was extremely clear; _I had to save Chat_.    

Rushing towards the two, Aunt’s Claire’s panicked scream cuts through the air as I throw myself at the distracted villain.

Roughly tackling him off of Chat, my arms tighten around his waist as we slam onto the ground. A sharp pain quickly sears through my skull as my head bounces off the concrete. Doing my best to ignore it, I reach for the hat on his head, but before my fingers can even touch it, his hand grabs my wrist roughly.

Trying to yank my arm away, his grip tightens painfully as he sits up. Pulling me with him as he stands, an invisible blade is pressed against my neck as I go still.

With blood gushing down my face from the head wound, I look around at the worried faces of everyone. Okay, _maybe_ I was a little too rash. Though, try as I might, I still couldn’t truly bring myself to regret my actions. Chat was safe, and that’s all that mattered in the end.

“Come on, big guy,” Chat leans against his staff with a tense smirk, “where’s the fun in involving civilians?”

The mime (as expected) doesn’t say anything and instead presses the knife more firmly against my neck. Using his free hand to point at Chat, he holds out his hand expectantly.

I bite the inside of my mouth as I frown worriedly. So I was the hostage in this situation? I guess I really only had myself to blame, rushing in without a real plan beyond ‘ _save Chat_ ’.

Chat glances down at his ring before looking back at us. “After this old thing?” he brings his hand up and wiggles his fingers with a grin. “Why don’t you let him go and we’ll talk about it?”

A tense silence falls and I notice Ladybug moving around from the corner of my eye. It made me feel a little better knowing she had a plan. I didn’t dare try to look at Aunt Claire or Madeleine though. The sounds of their panicked cries alone already made my chest hurt.

The Mime continues to stare down Chat and presses the knife into my skin. My stomach rolls as my whole body trembles. Squeezing my eyes closed, I force myself to remain still. Any closer and he’d cut my skin.

“Hey, Mime! Nice poster, don’t you think?” Ladybug suddenly yells.

Looking up at the Eiffel Tower, a large projection of a mime covers it. The simple picture seems to enrage the mime holding me captive and he rushes away from me with a rough shove.

Stumbling forward as my knees buckle, I fall to the ground and finally allow myself to breathe. As I wipe the blood from the corner of my eye, the looming shadow of the Eiffel Tower growing closer makes my eyes widen.

Covering my head with my arms (as if it would really help) I squeeze my eyes closed and hope for a painless death.

After what feels like a lifetime, someone quickly sweeps me into a tight hug. Tensing at the surprising touch, I realize it was Aunt Claire and Madeleine.

“What were you thinking, Evan!” Aunt Claire chokes out angrily as she buries her face into my shoulder.

My hands ball into fists and remain at my side. I really didn’t have a good excuse beyond Chat needed help. I didn’t like making them worry about me, but he was…and I had to…

Madeleine gasps as she tightens her hold on my shirt. “Mom, he—” Madeleine hiccups with a sob—“he’s bleeding real bad!”

Pulling away, Aunt Claire’s tearful eyes zero in on the blood pouring down my face. Cupping my chin, she looks closer at the cut above my eyebrow with a worried frown. “Give me your flannel, Evan.”

Not wanting to make her any more upset, I stiffly untie the green flannel from around my waist and hand it to her. But as she presses the clothing against the cut, a group of butterflies quickly fly around me before moving on.

Watching as they leave, I turn back to Aunt Claire as she slowly pulls back the stainless bunched up shirt. Her eyes widen before she lets out a tearful laugh and pulls me and Madeleine back into a tight hug.

“Are you guys okay?” Ladybug’s voice cuts through the quiet embrace.

Aunt Claire pulls away and laughs lightly as she wipes at her running mascara. “Oh! We’re fine, Ladybug,” she dusts off her knees as she stands, “just a little shaken is all.”

“That’s completely understandable, ma’am.” Chat nods with a smile.

Ladybug nods in agreement before turning her attention to me with a frown. “What you did was extremely dangerous, you know.”

“Yeah, we’re the heroes here,” Chat says as he throws his arm around Ladybug with a smirk. “We’re supposed to save you, not the other way around.”

Ignoring the way my stomach turns I look down at my feet with furrowed brows. They probably could’ve dealt with the mime on their own, but Chat was _so_ close to having his Miraculous taken. And I couldn’t just sit back while that happened. Paris needed Chat Noir and Ladybug more than they needed Evan Mercier.

“I’m not sorry,” I blurt out quickly before realizing what I said. Looking up at everyone’s surprised faces, my face warms and I shoot my eyes back to the ground. “I-I mean…It’s just that you guys are _the Heroes of Paris_ —” I motion to Chat and Ladybug halfheartedly—“but you’re still human and…” I sigh and scratch the side of my head, “I couldn’t just stand by and let someone get hurt…” I trail off and try to rub away the blush on my cheeks. God, I was really uncool. 

“You really are so much like your uncle,” Aunt Claire breathes out as she shakes her head. Slipping her glasses back on, she gives me a small smile before turning to Chat and Ladybug. “I’m sorry for all the trouble this guy caused. He had good intentions but just needs to think of his own wellbeing more often.”

Before either of them could respond, loud bleeping comes from Ladybug’s Miraculous and she quickly bids us goodbye as she swings away.

Seeing Chat smile as he watches her leave, my chest tightens. He definitely looked good when he smiled like that.

Watching as he jumps away, I’m pulled out of my thoughts by Madeleine tugging on my shirt.

Looking up at me, her usually bright blue eyes are red and swollen. “Please don’t get hurt anymore,” she whispers as she slips her hand into mine, squeezing it tightly.

My stomach churns at her tearful plea. “I promise, Maddie,” I force out. I didn’t want to lie to her, but there wasn’t any other choice.

Easily believing my fib, she beams up at me with her thousand-watt smile.

Burying the guilt swirling inside me, I ruffle her hair with a grin. Ignoring her attempts to swat my hand away, I chuckle before looking up at the illuminated tower.

With a gentle smile, Aunt Claire steps beside Madeleine and takes her other hand, sighing quietly.

“You’re grounded by the way.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone liked this chapter.  
> Some mild family angst mixed in with a good old (attempted) self-sacrifice from Evan. It's not the first, and it definitely won't be the last.  
> But on a lighter note, I realized I never was really descriptive about costumes and such, so I made a [ tumblr ](https://dopesharktree.tumblr.com) that you can check out if you want to see some attempts at drawing.


	18. Princess Fragrence

Changing back as I land on my balcony, I shuffle in to my room with a muffled cough. The moment Blann woke me up, a headache was pounding in the back of my head that only grew worse through the Akuma fight. It was so bad that I left the moment it was purified.

“Are you okay, Evan?” Blann questions worriedly as he hovers beside me.

Falling face first on my bed, I close my eyes with a grimace. “It’s just a headache,” I say as I bury my face into my pillow.

A tiny paw presses against my cheek. “You feel a little warm...”

“I’m fine,” I sigh out as I shove myself up. And I was. My throat was sore and my nose was a little stuffy, but it was probably just because of the weather. Rolling on my back, I close my eyes with a sigh. I’d just rest for a moment before getting ready for school.

Already half-asleep, I mumble a quiet “thanks” as Blann pulls the covers over me. I’d just take a five minute nap…

Slowly waking to a cool hand on my forehead, I hum contently at the feeling.

“Sorry. I didn’t mean to wake you,” Aunt Claire apologizes quietly, pressing her hand on my cheek. “But you should have told me that you weren’t feeling well.”

Ignoring the pain in my throat to the best of my ability, I force my eyes open. “‘m fine,” I mumble, trying to gather the strength to sit up. At this rate I was definitely going to be late to school.

“You’re staying in bed, mister.” She gives me a stern look and hands me a bottle of water. “Now, take this cold medicine,” she drops two pills in my hand, “and lay back down.”

I frown and bite my cheek. “But…”

“No buts, Evan. You’re sick and you need rest.”

Before I can say anything a deep cough tears at my throat as I cover my mouth and quickly turn away from her.

Eventually left a wheezing mess, I wipe the tears out of my eyes before taking the medicine and silently welcoming the cool feeling of the water as it soothes my sore throat. Putting the half-empty glass next to my bed, I fall back and close my eyes with a groan.

Aunt Claire gently places a cool, wet cloth on my forehead. “I’ll call the school and Mr. Lacroix when I get downstairs. So try to get some more sleep, sweetie. I’ll check on you later.” She squeezes my arm before standing to leave.

As soon as the door closes Blann flies out from hiding. Feeling him cuddle against my chest, I sag into the bed and quickly slip into a dreamless sleep.

\-----------------------

Groggily opening my eyes, I raise a heavy hand to my face.  Everything seemed to hurt and I couldn’t even muster the energy to kick off the blankets piled on top of me. With a groan, I pull off a damp cloth on my forehead. What even…?

Blann’s worried face quickly pops into my line of view. Placing his paw against my face, he whimpers before saying, “You still feel really hot.”

“Wha—” my voice cracks and I wince at the sting in the back of my throat.

“Hold on!” he squeaks out before hurriedly bringing me my glass of water. “You need to take some medicine then lie back down.”

Groaning as I sit up, I rest my head in the palm of my hand. Even though I just woke up I was still exhausted. Taking the cup from him I groggily watch as he zips off to grab the cold medicine.

Finishing the rest of my water as I swallow the pills, another uncomfortable cough burns my throat.

Brushing away my sweaty bangs, I shake my head lightly. Glancing over at my clock, seeing the time I’ve wasted sleeping makes me cringe. While I was still exhausted, I didn’t want to sleep anymore right now.

I cover my stinging eyes with my arm and blindly reach for the remote on the bedside table. As soon as I grab it I turn the TV on and relax.

“—or you. In just a spritz, you’ll be my Prince Ali,” a feminine voice states smugly.

Blann gasps loudly. “That’s a…!”

_A What?_ Peeking at the TV from under my arm, my eyes widen. It was an Akumatized girl! Hurriedly standing up, my whole body seems to ache at the sudden movement. Wincing as I bite back a groan, I move towards the balcony. I didn’t have time to waste being lethargic.

A tiny body throws itself at my face in an attempt to stop me. “What are you doing? You can’t go out when you’re sick!” the small Kwami cries out.

“ _Quatsch_. I’m fine, Blann.” I peel the Kwami off with a frown. “Chat and Lady—” a tickle in my throat makes me cough violently—“Ladybug might need my help.”

His ears twitch as he bristles with thinly-veiled frustration. “They—”

“Please, Blann. If anything would happen to them because I wasn’t there…” I give him a pleading look.

The small rabbit stares at me with a frown before kicking his feet wildly with a groan. “Fineee,” he gives in before looking at me seriously. “But if you feel even a _little_ _bit_ worse, we come back home.”

My shoulders relax and I smile at him lightly. “ _Danke_ , Blann,” I thank him as I raise my arm eye level. “Ears up.”

Transforming, I quickly throw open the balcony door and leap onto the roof. Fighting back the urge to collapse, I jump to another rooftop and make my way to the hotel just down the street. Spotting Chat just ahead of me I quicken my pace, swallowing the intense urge to cough.

“Hey, Chat,” I rasp out as I fall into step with him.

Grinning at me, he says, “I guess you saw the broadcast too?”

I nod silently. I couldn’t tell if the warmth on my face was just from the fever or being with Chat.

Immediately reaching the hotel, we jump up to an open window. Chat sits on the windowsill while I peer into the room from next to him. Chloe, the visiting prince (I think), and another women rush away from the door as pink perfume seeps into the room.

The elevator opens and the Akumatized girl approaches the three with open arms. “Come into my arms, my sweet prince,” she sings happily.

Chat gags and jumps into the room. “Can we get a little fresh air in here?”

“No one will take my prince away!” the girl shouts as she points her perfume gun at him.

As he dodges and knocks her into the kitchen, I step from the window and try my best to ignore the way my body shakes. “Is everyone okay?” I question as Chat extends his staff out the window.

Still covering their noses, they nod and Chat turns to us. “Emergency evacuation, everybody down.”

The woman quickly says, “It’s much too dangerous for the prince.”

With a quick look around, he clinks his finger against a metal bowl. “You’re right,” he puts the bowl on the prince’s head, “safety first.”

Not entirely appeased, the woman goes to object again and I quickly step in. “No time to waste.” I ignore the intense pain in my throat and grin as I cover the woman’s head with one of the other bowls.

Watching them slide down the pole I take a moment to cough roughly into my arm. Breathing deeply after a few moments, I wipe my face and hop down.

As we cram into the car, I end up between the prince and Chloe. Though I wasn’t too sure about why everyone was still holding their noses. Only half-listening to the argument circling around the prince, I take a moment to relax my sore body and close my stinging eyes. Hopefully the car ride would be nice and quiet.

\-------------------------

Coughing painfully into my fist, the lingering perfume makes my eyes water. I should have known better than to tempt fate. Not even a moment after wishing for a calm ride, the car was taken over by Princess Fragrance and her unpleasantly strong perfume.

My nose was too stuffed to breathe any of it in so I was left a chocking, hacking mess as the others were whisked away right in front of me.

Quickly forcing open the back door, I stumble out the car and lean against the crashed bus. Breathing in the fresh air, I wipe the sweat from my brow and slide to the ground with a groan. The encounter seemed to only worsen my symptoms; I was burning up and felt like I’ve been run over by a truck. But honestly, it was probably the crash that caused the latter.

Taking another moment to collect myself, I pull myself up and push away from the bus. I didn’t have time to waste on feeling sick; I had to stop Princess Fragrance. Knowing Ladybug, she’d show up at _just_ the right time and save the day like always.

I just wish she’d hurry up.

“To the Pont des Arts Bridge I guess,” I sigh out as I roll my shoulders tiredly. Wiping my sticky bangs from my forehead once again, I take a deep breath and force myself to run.

Struggling to keep myself moving, I eventually have to stop before even reaching Chat and the others.

My head and throat throb painfully as I sag against the wall with a groan. In-between aching gasps for air, I mentally berate myself for being so weak. After all, _it was_ _just a stupid cold_.

_“It’s just a stupid cold. Don’t be such a crybaby.”_

_As I wipe at the tears falling down my face, my throat burns when I try to speak. “B-But—” a sudden sharp pain from my head makes me cry out. Opening my hurting eyes, I look up into the cold eyes of Mom. Why was she being so mean? My lip quivers as I try to keep from crying._

_“Didn’t I tell you not to cry?” she pulls on my hair again with a frown. “You need to quit crying over every little thing; good boys aren’t crybabie—”_

I quickly shake my head and cut the memory off short. Realizing that I’ve dug my fingers into the brick wall, I step back and take a deep breath. I wasn’t _there_ anymore. I was here and safe.

Shaking my head again, I ruffle my hair and gather my thoughts. It was my duty as a _Hero of Paris_ to protect its people. No excuses.

Taking another deep breath, my whole body pulsed painfully at the simple movement. My resolve wavers before I quickly frown. No. I was stronger than a stupid cold.

Without any more thought I force myself towards the bridge.

Coming to a stop at the edge of the roof, I let out a relieved groan when I finally reach my destination. Grabbing my chest, I lean over and gulp down as much air as possible. Running was definitely a no-no.

Wiping my burning forehead, I turn my attention to the bridge. Seeing Chat and the others charging at Ladybug, my eyes widen and I quickly leap from the roof.

As soon as my feet touch the ground I charge at the controlled group. Barreling into the mayor, he flies to the side and crashes into the others. Panting loudly as I lay on top of the human pile, I barely summon the energy to push myself up and look at Ladybug.

“You…alright…?” I wheeze out as I shakily stand.

Princess Fragrance suddenly screeches, “Look at what you did to my servants!” and quickly points her perfume gun at me. “I’ll just have to make _you_ a servant then!”

The same pink perfume from the car shoots from her gun and Ladybug yells my name as it engulfs me.

Holding in a cough, tears prickle my eyes as I cover my mouth and nose. I couldn’t smell anything, but I could plenty well _taste_ it.

As the perfume starts to disappear, I’m unable to hold it in anymore and a raspy cough tears at my throat. Looking at Princess Fragrance, I wave my hand in an attempt to shoo away any lingering taste. “I-It doesn’t taste very good,” I choke out as I blink away tears.

She stomps her foot angrily before grabbing the prince and flying away. Taking a step to follow her, a wave of painful coughs overtakes me. Unable to support myself anymore, my trembling knees buckle as I collapse. But before I could hit the ground, someone catches me and carefully guides me to my knees.

“Are you okay, Lapin?” Ladybug worried face sweeps over my body. “You don’t look so good.”

With my throat feeling like I’ve swallowed a handful of razor blades, I turn away from her and wave my hand. “I’m fine…” I barely force down a cough, “It’s just the perfume.” I turn to her with a tense smile before seeing Chat running at us. With a quick yell, Ladybug tumbles to the side as I shove her away just as his staff smacks the ground.

Ladybug narrows her eyes at Chat. “Snap out of it, Chat Noir. It’s us, Lapin Blanc and Ladybug.”

Looking at the two of us, he ignores her and starts to… _sing_? “ _Give me your Miraculouses_ ,” he sings dramatically.

Sharing a quick look with Ladybug, she mouths ‘let me handle this’ before rushing at Chat. Under normal circumstances I’d object, but I’d only be a hindrance this fight.

Leaning against the chain-link railing, my hand sluggishly wipes away the sweat on my burning forehead as the sounds of fighting fill the air. Now that I had the time for my mind to catch up with my body, it was easy to tell that I probably pushed myself too far. As I slump against the railing, my throat stings painfully every time I breathe. All I needed was a couple minutes to regain my energy and then go after the Akumatized villain…

Jolting awake as the sound of explosions seems to surround me, I groan as my head pulses. Tiredly opening my eyes, I look up at the sky to see dozens of fireworks going off and causing a pink cloud to explode. As the fog in my mind slowly clears, a spark of realization hits me. We were in the middle of fighting someone Akumatized!

Ladybug suddenly swings passed the bridge and shouts down at me, “Chat’s in the river! Make sure he’s okay!”

Doing my best to ignore the heaviness of my limbs, I’m able to pull myself to my feet. Shuffling over to the opposite side of the bridge, I look down and see a splashing Chat doggy paddling to the shore. Leaning against the railing, I rest my flushed face in my folded arms as I watch him pull himself out of the water and starts to lick himself dry.

Hearing the mayor and others start to stir, I force my body to move and jump off the bridge. Landing not too far from an occupied Chat, I barely have time to catch myself against the wall as complete exhaustion sweeps through me.  

Crumpling to the ground, I change back and Blann flies from my bracelet. Vaguely aware of his worried words, my body shivers painfully as my face burns. Blearily staring at nothing, my eyes drift closed and I can’t bring myself to reopen them. Maybe if I just rested for a moment…

“—u okay?”

Groggily opening my eyes, I stare up at the hazy figure as my mind struggles to form a full thought. The towering figure reaches towards me and my body goes rigid as the person comes into view.

Tears immediately fill my eyes as I tremble beneath her harsh glare. “I-I’m sorry,” I force out as press myself closer to the wall. I didn’t even know what I did wrong this time. “I—I—I—”

_~~What are you talking about?~~_ “What did I say about touching mommy’s things?” she questions angrily as she pulls her hand back to slap me.

Squeezing my eyes closed, my body trembles in fear as my shoulders tense. “P-Please don’t hit me,” I choke out as tears and snot run down my face.

_~~What?~~ _

“I’ll be good and…” my voice trails off as my gaze settles on the ground. She didn’t like me talking back or looking her in the face when I was in trouble. I had to take the beating; it was my fault she always got so angry.

_~~Are you okay, Evan?! Should I—~~ _

Staring quietly down at her feet, I shakily wipe my face and wait for whatever punishment she decides on. Blurry black boots stare up at me as odd feelings tug at my brain. She never wore those kinds of shoes, only bright red heels that _clacked…clacked…clacked_ …wherever she went. So why…

Feeling cool stone beneath my hands, the molasses in my brain makes it hard to understand. She never punished me outside of the house, said people didn’t understand. So why was…

So why was this happening? Unless…

My eyes widen as I slowly pan up to her face… _unless_ _it wasn’t real._

Like waking from a bad dream, her face disappears as another slowly takes her place. “Chat?” I rasp out as his masked face slowly comes into focus.

Kneeling in front of me, his worried eyes look into mine as he smirks. “The one and only.”

My body shudders in relief as tears threaten to fall once again. It was all a horrible fever dream. I wasn’t in Germany with _her_ anymore; I was in Paris.

“So, mind telling me why you’re in your pajamas—almost passed out—under the Pont des Arts Bridge?”

Pulled out of my mind, I’m quickly reminded of the throbbing in my head and throat. Also realizing that my gloves were still in my room, I stiffly pull my sleeves over my hands in an attempt to hide the ugliness scarring them.

Tears build as I sniffle pathetically. Why was it that I had to run into Chat _now_ of all times? When I was too weak to even move properly? Between trying to be a hero when I was still normal, and now this, there was no way he had a positive opinion of me.

My emotions reach a boiling point and I bury my head in my arms, trying desperately to hold in my tears.

I was useless, wasn’t I? I didn’t deserve to be a hero, let alone fight alongside Chat and Ladybug. Everyone deserved a better _Lapin Blanc_ than I could give them. Everyone deserved a better _Evan_ than I could give them.

I let out a shuddered gasp as my body shivers. I just wanted to go home and pretend I never existed.

Sniffling quietly, I keep my face hidden as I mumble, “You can leave, ‘m fine.” It was a half-truth, but I’d get over it later.

I always did.

“Are you really okay?” his concerned voice burrows into my ears and my lip starts to tremble. Why did he have to be so nice?

Struggling as I force my body to move, I hold in a groan as I shakily stand. Leaning heavily against the wall, the cold stone cools my back and arms as my tired eyes focus on Chat. “Yeah, I’m—” I quickly turn away as a cough rips at my throat—“I’m fine.”

Chat crosses his arms. “I don’t believe you,” he states simply.

What? I look at him blankly before a tinge of irritation prickles my chest. “Look,” I start as I force myself to ignore the sting in my throat, “I just want to go back to Aunt Clai—Aunt Claire!” my eyes widen as I suddenly remember her. “Oh man, she’s gonna be furious if she finds out I snuck out,” I groan as I scratch the side of my head in frustration. Nothing was going right today.

“You know, I could get you home lickety-split.”

“Wha…?” I trail off as I turn my attention back to him. Was my fever so bad that I was having auditory hallucinations now?

With a glint in his eyes, Chat puts his hands on his hips. “I _could_ take you home…if you make it worth my while.”

Not liking the look in his eyes, I frown and shake my head. There was no way that was happening.

\--------------------

“We’re here!” Chat states happily as we land on my balcony.

Quickly untangling my arms from around his shoulders, I slip off his back with a sigh. With my heart threatening to burst from my chest, I silently commit to memory the feeling of his body against mine. I felt a little guilty, taking advantage of the situation like that, but hey, no one was _that_ virtuous.

Opening the glass door, I shuffle inside and unceremoniously fall onto my bed. I was a little too tired and a little too sore to care about simple decorum. Basically falling asleep as soon as my head hits the sheets, I almost forget about a certain hero still here.

“Nice room.”

Pulled from drifting to sleep, I take a deep breath and roll onto my back and sit up. Moving to lean against the headboard of my bed, I watch as he looks around my room.

Before either of us could say anything, rapid knocking comes from my door. “Evan? It’s Maddie,” a voice chirps through the wood as my pulse jumps.

Panic sweeps through me. I had to do something about Chat! Looking over at him, I quickly mouth to hide under my bed.

With wide eyes, he does as told just as the door opens and my grinning cousin waltzes in.

“Hey,” she greets as she skips to my side. “Mom told me you were sick so I brought this!” She moves her hands from behind her back and dangles a bag of frozen peas in front of me. “It goes on your forehead because it keeps the fever down.”

Taking the bag from her, I turn it over in my hands and smile at her. “Thanks, Madeleine.”

She nods happily before Aunt Claire’s voice echoes up the stairs telling her Gabby was here.

“Oh, I’ve gotta hurry or I’ll be late to ballet class,” Madeleine shouts as she rushes towards the door. Stopping for a second, she smiles at me and says, “See ya later, Evan!” Then, without waiting for a reply, she disappears down the stairs as the door slams shut behind her.

After a moment, Chat’s head peaks out of the side of the bed as he pulls himself out from under it. Brushing off the front of his costume, he sighs before grinning at me. “That was a close one.”

Nodding in agreement, I lean against the headboard with a tired sigh and press the frozen vegetables against the back of my neck. “Sorry, she’s always like that,” I wheeze out as I give him an apologetic smile.

“Its fine, I’ve heard kids are like that,” he answers flippantly as he glances around the room once again.

Letting him do as he pleases, I close my eyes with a tired sigh. No doubt, under normal circumstances, my nerves would be running high having Chat in my room, but I was physically and emotionally exhausted.

“You live really close to my—err, the Agreste house, don’t you?” questions Chat suddenly.

Keeping my eyes closed, I nod lightly to keep my head from pounding too badly. “Yeah…” my thoughts drift to Adrien and I open my eyes with a frown. “He really hates me though.”

“What?” Chat turns away from the window to look at me.

A heaviness forms in my chest and I remove the frozen peas from my neck. “The guy that lives there hates me because—” I flinch as the memory flashes in my mind—“because I did something bad.”

Chat quietly stares down at me with crossed arms before eventually saying, “Do you regret it?”

I frown to myself. Of course I did— _do_. “All the time,” I answer softly as I stare down at the frozen peas in my lap.

A long silence falls between us before the sound of his Miraculous bleeping fills the room.

“Aw man, I’ve gotta go,” Chat groans out before rushing to the balcony door and pulling it open. Turning to me, the wind rustles his hair as he smiles warmly.

The sight alone is almost beautiful enough to blind my mere mortal eyes.

“I wouldn’t worry about Adrien anymore, Evan, I think he’ll come around _real_ soon—trust me,” he says with a wink before disappearing off the balcony.

Silence once again fills the air as I replay his words over and over again.

_…worry about Adrien anymore, Evan, he…_

_…anymore, Evan…_

_…Evan…_

_…Evan…_

My fatigue washes away as a giddy feeling spreads in my chest.

Blann flies from his hiding place and looks at me worriedly. “Are you okay?” he questions quickly.

“He said my name…” I breathe out as the heat from my face spreads. A large grin tugs at my face and I grin at the small rabbit.

He blinks before breaking into quiet giggles. “Yeah, he did, didn’t he?” He giggles again then flies away somewhere, but I was too busy focusing on that _Chat said my name_!

Appearing in front of me once again, he hands me the medicine and goes back for the water.

“After you take this, you need to lie down so you can get better,” he orders as he gives me an expectant look.

I take the cold pills with long drink of water as my heart slows to its normal rhythm. Now that Chat was gone, my mind wasn’t occupied with him and it was hard ignoring just how miserable I felt.

Setting the empty glass on the edge of my desk, my eyes grow heavy as soon as my head hits the pillow. Feeling covers being pulled over me, I relax even more and sigh contently as a something cold is placed on my forehead. Already half-asleep, I vaguely feel Blann cuddle into the crook of my neck as my consciousness drifts away.

A quick smile tugs at my lips again.

_…He said my name…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some Chat and Evan one-on-one! Too bad he was sick during all of it...Oh well, at least Chat said his name, though! I'd like to think that made his entire week lol


	19. Origins: Part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Because I suck at accurately describing where Evan lives, you might want to check out [this](https://dopesharktree.tumblr.com/post/185483360923/simple-blueprint-of-claires-flower-shophouse) post on my tumblr to see what the actual Mercier house/flower shop looks like. It's just a simple blueprint, but I'd like to think it helps envision it.   
> Anyway, thanks in advance for reading!

Sitting at the dining room table, I silently pull apart the toast on my plate. I wasn’t really hungry. Peeking up as the others eat, I nervously glance between the two. After months of evaluations and therapy, I was now moved in with my deceased uncle’s wife and younger daughter.

 “Are you not hungry, Evan?” Claire, my aunt, questions suddenly.

Tensing my shoulders, I quickly shake my head and look down. “No ma’am,” I mumble before forcing myself to swallow a piece of toast. An awkward silence falls between the three of us as I continue to force down food.

Silverware clinging together fills the empty air as Aunt Claire clears her throat. “Are you guys excited about your first day of school?”

I look up from my plate and shrug while Madeleine nods excitedly. “Tanya’s supposed to be in my class this year.”

The blonde nods before turning her attention to me. “How about you?” she asks with a kind smile.

My fingers dig into my thigh as I bite the inside of my cheek. The doctor told me to be honest with her. “I—I’m…scared…” I finally mumble ashamedly. I shouldn’t be such a baby…

Her smiling face quickly morphs into concern. Biting her lip, she looks away and seems to debate with herself before looking back at me. “You don’t—”

Her phone starts ringing loudly and cuts her off. Quickly grabbing it, her eyes widen and she stands. “We’ve gotta go, Maddie, otherwise we’ll be late.” The two start rushing around before Aunt Claire stops to look at me. “Are you _really_ sure you don’t want me to drop you off today?”

I shake my head silently. I didn’t want to be any more of a burden than I already was.

“Okay, just be careful on the way there…” she looks unsure but smiles at me anyway.

Madeleine skips in front of me and holds her hand up with a grin as she says, “A high-five, for good luck!”

Blinking dumbly at her, I slowly raise my gloved hand and carefully tap my palm against hers. Giving her an unsure look, my unease ebbs away as her eyes seem to sparkle happily.

“We’re gonna have _the bestest_ day today, I can feel it!” she gives me a closed-eyed smile before turning away and moving to put her shoes on.

Staring down at my palm, a warm feeling tickles my chest and I smile lightly. I’ve never high-fived someone before.

Someone sniffles quietly and I quickly look up. Only seeing a smiling Aunt Claire, I furrow my brows and chalk it up to hearing things.

Watching then as they double-check they have everything, Madeleine waves energetically at me and I timidly return the motion. When the door clicks closed, the tension in my shoulders slips away and I sigh. Living with people was hard. In Germany, I was home alone most days and had to take care of myself.

Glancing up at the clock on the wall, I decide it’d be a good idea to start getting my things together. Putting my dishes in the sink, I head up to the attic room my aunt set up for me.

Walking up the last set of stairs, I open the door and glance around. It was a lot bigger than the tiny room I was used to. Leaving the door open as I step inside, I turn and look at the dresser to my left before looking the other way at the rest of my room.

My punching bag was in the corner, next to a queen sized bed that was pushed against the wall headboard first. There was a small gray couch was shoved against the foot of it and a TV plugged in against the opposite wall. Then, in a small nook in the corner, was a large bookcase filled with different books (mostly photography and a couple self-help ones given to me by the doctors). Opposite of the bookcase was a large L-shaped desk shoved in the corner with a cheap office chair. The best thing though, was the glass door between the bookcase and desk that led to a small balcony.

Everything was gifted to me from Aunt Claire the same week she took custody of me. I was still waiting for the other shoe to drop, because no one was this nice… _ever._

After grabbing my messenger bag and leaving the bedroom, I head back down the stairs to the living room. Realizing that I was running out of time, I quickly slip on my tennis shoes and turn the lights off as I leave.

Heading down to the ground floor, I glance into the dark flower shop before leaving through the back door.

Stepping out of the alley and onto the sidewalk, my shoulders tense as I keep my eyes glued to the ground. _There were so many people_. The only good thing was that they all seemed to be absorbed in their own thoughts.

Tightening my grip on the strap of my bag, I take a deep breath and start heading down the street. As soon as I’d turn the corner I’d be at the school and could get away from all the people.

As I turn said corner, my pulse starts to race at the sight of the school. It was a lot bigger than I thought. Clenching my hands nervously, I bite the inside of my cheek painfully.

When was the last time I’ve even seen a school?

_Slamming my fist into the boy’s face over and over, I scoff at the sound of him crying._

_“What’s the Matter, Kurt?” I sneer as I grab a fistful of his hair, “You don’t have anything else to say? Don’t wanna call me a dirty piece of trash again? Maybe tell me I should just go and die?”_

_His lower lip quivers and tears run down his bloody, bruising face._

_What a wimp._

_Another surge of anger fills my chest. I didn’t even hit him nearly as hard as Mama hits me._

_Pulling back my fist, a thrill of excitement sparks through me as he tries to cower away. I was finally the one not afraid._

I jerk violently as loud ringing cuts through my spiraling thoughts. Taking a deep breath, I had to remind myself that I wasn’t ten years old anymore; I was older and knew better.

Feeling slightly better, I readjust my bag and step onto the first step. Everything would be fine.

“Watch it, loser,” a voice seethes as someone shoves past me and up the rest of the stairs.

I stumble to the side as my pulse jumps. While my eyes quickly center on the two girls entering the school, I grit my teeth as a familiar surge of anger sweeps through me. Who did she think she was?

Anger and fear eat at my stomach as my fingers dig into my palms of my hands. What if everyone was as rude as that blonde and her friend? I take a sharp breath as my whole body tenses at the thought. I didn’t want to be made fun of anymore. I just…

_I just wanted to fit in._

My heart pounds in my ears as my mind replays all the horrible things I was called. _Freak… disgusting… waste of space…._ that girl was probably thinking that right now, wasn’t she? She’d tell everyone in the school what a freak I was and then everyone would hate me.

A familiar coppery taste fills my mouth and I gasp as I’m pulled back to the reality. Pressing my tongue to the inside of my cheek, I force myself to calm down by doing the breathing exercises Dr. Beaumont taught me.

_…in..._

_…out…_

_…in…_

_…out…_

Repeating the repetitive motions over and over, my hands slowly unclench as my heart stops pounding. Opening my eyes, I stare up at the large school as unease still swirls in my stomach.

_I couldn’t do it._

A frown settles on my face once again as I turn from the imposing building and do the only thing I’m good at: running away.

Quickly crossing the street, some of the weight on my shoulders lessens and I take a deep breath. If no one cared about me skipping before, then surely someone I didn’t really know wouldn’t either.

Walking down the street aimlessly, I shove my hands in the pockets of my jeans. I had hours to waste before going back to Aunt Claire’s flower shop. Speaking of the older blonde, would she be mad that I ditched on the first day? She seemed nice, but…

Biting the inside of my cheek, I trail to a stop as uneasiness settles in my stomach. Maybe I should’ve just gone to school. “Too late now,” I sigh out as I lean against the nearby building. School already started and I didn’t want to embarrass myself by arriving late. Give them more cannon fodder to make fun of me.

Crouching down, I lean back on my heels as I passively watch the throngs of people pass me by. No one seems to really take notice of me, but I was happy about that. Observing everyone a moment longer, I shift my school bag around and pull out my old camera. I only had one lens for it, but I was happy with it anyway.

It one of the few things I had left of dad.

I didn’t know a lot about him, but sometimes I wondered if things would’ve been different if he was around. If she wouldn’t have been so mean.

Smiling lightly as the camera turns on; I bring it up to my face. Staring at the legs of the people that pass by through the lens, I idly snap a few photos.

“Loitering is a crime.”

Jumping at the sudden words, I quickly turn my attention to the voice, away from my camera. “Excuse me?” I question the older man with furrowed brows.

He seemingly ignores my question and instead asks one. “What are you doing?”

My shoulders tense as I stand. “I was just taking some pictures, sir.”

“I can see that,” he replies curtly.

I narrow my eyes and bite my tongue. Then why ask?

He holds out his hand expectantly. “Let me see it.” I give him a wary look and he sighs. “The pictures; let me see them.”

“…why?” I eye him warily as my grip tightens on my camera.

“Because, I own Lacroix Studios—” he motions to the building I was leaning against—“and you’re prowling around taking pictures. Now camera, if you will.”

_Lacroix Studios?_ Like famous photography company Lacroix studios? I hold in a scoff, it was dubious at best. I should just lose him in the crowd and find another place to hide out, but something in me told me to take a chance—just once.

Frowning, I take a long, hard look at his face, and commit it to memory. Slowly handing over my camera, I make sure my hand is tightly secured around its strap as my whole body tenses in preparation. If he was going to steal it, he wasn’t getting away without a fight.

Annoyance ebbs away into embarrassment the longer the greying man analyzes the pictures. Then, finally, after another handful of awkward seconds, he hands me back the camera with an unreadable expression.

“What’s your name?”

“Uh, Evan Mercier,” I answer hesitantly as I fumble with my camera.

“I see, and how old are you?” he questions.

I mumble out my age –fourteen—as I shove my camera in my school bag.

The man hums, almost to himself, before clearing his throat. “Your photos lack any real cohesive themes and the lighting is mediocre at best. You have a long way to go before you can reach a professional level.” He adjusts his glasses and stares down at me.

Bristling at his words, shame boils under my skin. I knew I wasn’t anywhere near a professional level, but he didn’t have to rub it in.

“Now, having said that, you do have some potential and I’m willing to teach you the proper techniques—”he crosses his arms and frowns—“as long as you agree to my terms.”

My brows furrow as I subtly shift away from him. “That’s…very generous, mister, but—”

“Lacroix,” he cuts me off sharply. “My name is Philip Lacroix.”

_Lacroix?_ “Like, famous photographer Lacroix?” I question with wide eyes. It had to be a coincidence.

He nods. “One in the same, and it would be very amiss to pass up on my generous offer, Mr. Mercier.” He smooths down his tie and gives me an expectant look.

With my heart in my throat, I swallow heavily. _I had potential?_ No one’s ever told me that before. It was always _‘a waste of space’_ , or _‘useless’_ , or _‘pathetic’_. Never _potential._ And this was coming from famous the famous photographer Philip Lacroix…who wanted to actually mentor a failure like me.

“That—I mean…” I suddenly remember the ‘terms’ he mentioned earlier and narrow my eyes. “What are the terms?”

“It’s rather simple,” he starts, pulling out a small card. “Firstly, you give this to your guardian so I can speak with them—” he hands me a sleek looking business card—“and secondly, no more skipping school from today onward.”

I bite the inside of my cheek and think over the offer. Would Aunt Claire even let me do this? I mean, she’s going to be furious when she finds out I skipped…

“Your reply, Mr. Mercier?” questions Mr. Lacroix, his brown eyes staring down at me expectantly.

Swallowing heavily, I screw my eyes closed and nod quickly. I’d never know unless I asked.

“Good,” he replies simply. “Now go on home and apologize to your guardian for skipping school today.” He then bids me a silent goodbye before heading into the building.

Shoving my hands in my pockets, I scuff my shoe against the ground. It was hard to admit, but it wasn’t right of me to ditch. Maybe if I apologized sooner, rather than when I got caught, she wouldn’t be as upset.

Rolling my shoulders with a loud sigh, I tighten the green flannel around my waist before starting the journey back to Aunt Claire’s.

Reaching the flower shop sooner than I would’ve liked, I break into a cold sweat. Peeking through the glass, my eyes quickly focus on Aunt Clair as she tends to the flowers and I swallow nervously before opening the door. I could do this.

Hearing the bell jingle, she turns with a smile. “Hello—” her eyes widen—“Evan? What are you doing here?”

Averting my eyes to the floor, I hunch my shoulders guiltily. “I didn’t go to school,” my face burns in humiliation as I tug at the hem on my shirt, “I’m sorry.”

“What happened?” she questions as she turns her full attention to me.

More feelings of shame crawl up my spine as my hands grasp at my jeans. “I guess I got stuck in my head…got scared…” I mumble the last part as my face grows warm. Just thinking about my poor excuse of a reason made me feel stupid.

“Sweetie, it’s okay, I understand. We’ll try again tomorrow,” Aunt Claire says softly, causing me to look up from the floor.

My eyes widen at her non-angry tone. She was going to forgive me, just like that? No insults or throwing things? Just calm understanding?

Not one to press my luck, I keep my disbelief to myself. Remembering the business card I was given earlier, I quickly pull it out of my pocket. “Here,” I offer her the card quickly; if I waited until later I’d lose my nerve to ask.

“Oh. What’s this?” she takes it from me and looks it over curiously.

“Mr. Lacroix—he’s that famous photographer in all those magazines—gave it to me. Said I had…” the corners of my mouth tug into a small grin as I look at the ground, “potential to be a good photographer one day, and that he’d like to talk to you about teaching me.”

The silence stretches on for a moment before she hums. “Your therapist _was_ encouraging a hobby…no promises, but I’ll call later,” she says, causing me to look at her.

Just her thinking about it was good enough for me, so I nod quickly. It was better than nothing.

“Now then, about your punishment for skipping…”

My stomach churns as she stuffs the card in her apron, mind racing and body tensing at the thought. Hopefully she wouldn’t leave any bruises on my face; it was always harder to cover those…

“How about helping me in the shop until Maddie gets home?”

I’d have to—

“What?” I blink stupidly. Help her with the flowers? It was too easy to be a real punishment. “That’s…it?” my brows furrow as I question her quietly.

Her smile softens as she looks at me sadly. “You don’t have to worry about anyone hurting you, Evan, not anymore.”

A vague mushy feeling tugs at my chest as I look away from her. Half the doctors said the same thing, but, for some reason, a small part of me believed her a lot more. Taking a deep breath in an attempt to reign in my emotions, I tug at my gloves and nod. Helping her was the least I could do, I guess.

Clapping happily, she threads her fingers together with a laugh. “Great! I’ll grab an apron for you and I’ll show you what to do.”

Placing my messenger bag behind the counter, I quickly slip on the blue apron she handed me as she starts talking about all the things we had to do.

\----------------------

Time seemed to trickle by as the sounds of the radio fill the shop as Aunt Claire, while humming along to the energetic song, finishes putting together a bouquet of flowers. The comfortable atmosphere is broken when the older costumer decided to speak to me.

“You know, son,” she turns her full attention to me with a critical eye, “you really do look a lot like Matthieu.”

Out of the corner of my eye Aunt Claire’s posture grew tense—probably because Uncle Matthieu wasn’t spoken about in great detail. From what I could glean, he was my father’s brother and died almost two years ago from some form of cancer. And judging from the pictures on the wall, really loved to smile.

The elder woman didn’t seem to pick up my aunt’s uncomfortableness and continues. “He was such a fine young man—had the handsomest smile. It was such a shock when he passed…”

The doors suddenly slam open with a loud jingle. “Mom, I’m home!” the small redhead yells, large grin adorning her freckled face, though it sours when she notices Mrs. Jones, only growing again when she spots me. “Hi, Evan, I’m back,” she says enthusiastically as she skips up to the counter, seemingly intent on ignoring the gray-haired lady.

Though said lady had other ideas. “Oh, aren’t you precious. Come say hi to auntie, Leine.”

Madeleine’s grin is quickly wiped off her face as she purses her lips. “Hello, Mrs. Jones,” she drones out dully.

I blink at the deadpan response. She was usually friendlier than that.

“Here are your flowers, Mrs. Jones,” Aunt Claire interrupts, smile clashing with the firmness of her brow. “A dozen carnations, as usual.”

“Oh, just listen to me, rambling on while you two are working.” Mrs. Jones actually looked embarrassed as she quickly took the flowers and paid. “Thank you again, dear. You too, Leine, Kevin,” she says happily.

Not bothering to correct her, I flash a painfully awkward smile as she heads to the front of the shop.

“Have a wonderful day, Mrs. Jones!” Aunt Claire yells as the door jingles closed behind the chatty older woman.

“I hate her,” Madeleine states after a moment of silence.

“Madeleine!” Aunt Claire gaps. “You can’t say that.”

She groans in response. “It’s true though! She always like—” she hunches her back and does a bad impression of a wheezy laugh—“hehehe, my precious Leine. You look so pretty. I just wanna cook you and eat you up.”

“She doesn’t say that,” she argues before frowning. “…at least not the cooking part…”

“Ha, see? She’s totally weird.”

“Still, I—” the ground begins shaking and causes a flower pot to crash to the ground as Aunt Claire gasps. “Careful, I think it’s an earthquake,” she says loudly as she stumbles and grabs onto the counter.

Glancing out the large windows, my eyes widen as a group of police cars fly by with their sirens blaring as a man’s urgent voice quickly cuts off the energetic music coming from the radio.

“We’re sorry to interrupt, but we’ve just confirmed that, as bizarre as it may be, the quakes happening around Paris are being cause by some sort of giant rock golem. The police are doing their best to keep the situation under control, and until further notice, the mayor has strongly advised that everyone stay indoors for their own safety. We, at station KIAA, will be reporting the situation to the best of our abilities. Stay safe and stay inside everyone,” the man finishes before the music starts back up.

With wide eyes, I look at Aunt Claire as the information sinks in. Was there seriously some sort of monster out there, terrorizing the streets of Paris? It sounded insane.

Aunt Claire points at Madeleine and I and motions to the back of the store. “You two, upstairs while I close up. No coming down.”

The both of us nod and head to the stairs without a word. As soon as we reach the 2nd floor, Madeleine makes a beeline to the TV and turns it on—a newswoman’s excited detailing of the situation filling the room.

“This is amazing! I’ve never seen a real monster before,” she squeals excitably as she sits on the couch, eyes glued to the screen as it plays videos of the rock golem. “Do you think that means superheroes are real too?” she questions breathily.

I shrug and reply with a halfhearted maybe. It was really unlikely, but she could still dream—kids deserved at least that much.

She takes my bland answer as a positive and beams up at me before turning her attention back to the TV. Only half listening to the broadcast, I take a seat on the other couch and slump into the plush cushions. Closing my eyes, my mind wonders aimlessly as I hold in a yawn.

_“Can you tell me how you got that bruise on your face?” the police officer questions calmly. “It looks like it really hurts.”_

_Frowning deeper, I cross my arms and glare at the table. Mama would be furious when I got home._

_“It’s okay, son, you’re not in trouble. I just want to help.”_

_Biting my tongue, I keep my mouth shut. I wasn’t supposed to talk about it._

_His chair squeaks. “Then what about that cut above your eye?”_

_My shoulders tense. I wouldn’t talk about it._

_“Or the bruises on your arms?”_

_My chest strains under the pressure to keep my emotions under control. There was no way he would understand—nobody could. “You don’t understand,” I mutter bitterly._

_His chair squeaks again. “Then help me understand.”_

_Looking up at him with a glare, the pain in my chest grows until it snaps. He didn’t understand. “It was my fault, okay?!” I sneer, slamming my hands on the desk as I jump up. “I’m stupid and always bad, so I have to be punished.”_

_“Who has to punish you, Evan?” the police officer quickly questions gently._

_My bottom lip trembles as I try desperately to hold back the sudden well of tears. Furiously wiping at my eyes, I glare down at the ground. I’d just get in more trouble if I said anything._

_“Evan, please, we just want to help—get you somewhere safe. Just tell us who hurt you.”_

_The burn scar on my hand itches almost painfully. I couldn’t say…right? If I did, she’d hurt me again, maybe even worse than usual. I didn’t want to get punished again._

_I didn’t—_

“Evan, look! Heroes!”

I jerk violently as my eyes fly open, pulse racing in my ears. Digging my fingers into the white fabric of the couch with gritted teeth I fight back the terrified apology on the tip of my tongue. Growing aware of my surroundings, I’m keenly aware of the worried look Madeleine was giving me. I force myself to take deep breathes as my body shudders. “Sorry, I must’ve fallen asleep,” I rasp, relaxing my strained fingers. “What’d you say about heroes?”

That quickly shifts her attention. “Watch!” she says excitedly as she points to the TV.

Doing as she says, I sit up and rub my eye as I watch a video play of two masked people fight the golem. Sitting up straighter, a spark of interest zaps me. Superheroes were real? Like, fighting evil and saving the day sort of superheroes?

It suddenly switches to the mayor. “I am pleased to announce that…”

The door opens as Aunt Claire walks in.

“We will be organizing a huge celebration in honor of city’s new protectors, Ladybug and Chat Noir.”

She sighs as she sits next to Madeleine. “Thank goodness this is all finally over.”

“ _This. Is. So. Cool_.” Madeleine breathes as she bounces excitably on the couch.

Silently agreeing with her, I stretch and dig my fingers into a knot in my shoulder. It _was_ pretty cool.

Laughing, Aunt Claire ruffles her hair. “I figured you’d be excited by the thought of superheroes, Maddie,” she says with a grin.

The redhead bats at her mom’s hand with a pout. “Ladybug is so cool though, mom. She was all like _wham_ ,” she chops the air, “ _bam_ ,” her leg flails as she kicks it dramatically, “ _hiyah_ ,” she throws both hands into the air, falling back into the couch with a giggle. “So cool…”

Smiling at her energy, my body finally uncoils. Ignoring the ache in my back and shoulders, I tug at my gloves absentmindedly.

“Well,” Aunt Claire drawls out. “Great news calls for even greater food.” She stands and smiles, walking to the fridge before Madeleine suddenly gasps.

Focusing my eyes back to the TV, the same reporter quickly starts speaking. “Just as Paris is about to celebrate the appearance of our two new superheroes—Ladybug and Chat Noir—a new wave of panic is sweeping across the capital as dozens of people are mysteriously transformed into stone monsters. It’s simply unbelievable.” As she speaks a video starts playing of people being turned to golems.

The smile on Aunt Claire’s face is quickly replaced with a frown.

“The stonebeings are still like statues. Police are perplexed,” the reporter continues. “What will happen to them? Will they come to life or be frozen in—” the TV suddenly changes channels and Madeleine whines loudly.

“No more news,” Aunt Claire says, placing the remote on the coffee table. “Now come and help me with dinner, Maddie.”

With a grumble, she does as told and drags herself over to the kitchen island with a huff.

Unsure of what to do, I avert my eyes and stare at my gloved hands. I’d usually be in charge of making my own food, so suddenly having someone else cook was…odd to say the least. Hearing a childish giggle, I glance up and look in the kitchen. Watching the mother and daughter duo laugh and have fun fills me with equal parts happiness and crushing loneliness.

Quickly burying the negative half, I instead focus on the happy chattering on the other side of the room as I close my eyes.

Everything would be better tomorrow.


	20. Origins: Part 2

“Are you sure you don’t want me to take you to school?”

I shake my head for what feels like the millionth time. “I’ll be fine, Aunt Claire. I won’t skip this time, I promise.”

She still looks unconvinced, but slowly nods her head. “Okay,” she sighs. “But I want you to go straight there and back. No pit stops.”

Nodding silently, I quickly sling on my messenger bag and head out the door before she could change her mind, not stopping until I step into the alley. Letting out a frustrated sigh, I scratch the side of my head with a frown. Ever since last night she’s been trying to convince me to ride with her and Madeleine to school. My frown deepens as I shove away from the door. It was bizarre, having someone in my business all the time.

Stepping on to the street, my eyes immediately move to the large frozen golem to my left. This person, whoever it was, was unlucky enough to be affected by whatever was happening. With a shake of my head, I step around it and continue on the path to school; it’s not like I could do anything for them anyway.

Reaching the crosswalk, I hunch over in an attempt to avoid bumping shoulders with anyone. While the streets were less crowded than usual, they were still too full for my liking.

Just as I’m about to cross the road, I spot two men hassling someone further down the street. Pausing, I bite the inside of my cheek as I move my gaze back to the crosswalk. The old man didn’t look like he could properly defend himself against the two. My hand tightens around the strap of my bag as I glare at the ground. It wasn’t right, harassing someone like that…

My jaw clenches and, against my better judgement, I turn away from the crosswalk. I had to do something. Stepping up behind the two men, I do my best to ignore the blood rushing in my ears. “Leave him alone,” I order as confidently as possible.

They turn to me with harsh glares. “Beat it, kid.”

“Yeah, beat it. We we’re just having a civil conversation,” the other chimes with a sneer.

“Didn’t look very civil to me.” My scars itch as I glare at them, unperturbed by their command. “And I think the police will agree with me.”

The stare off grows more intense the longer it goes on until the first guy breaks it with a scoff. “Whatever,” he turns to his friend, “let’s get outta here.”

Watching the two men leave I keep my eyes trained on their backs, a dull ache settling in my tensed shoulders. I didn’t think they’d have a change of heart, but you could never be too careful.

“Thank you, young man, but it was rather dangerous to intervene like that,” the old man says, causing me to look at him.

“I know,” I state simply. I knew the risks of getting involved. “But they were being _depps_ and I couldn’t stand by.”

The old man’s eyes twinkle with mirth. “ _Idiots?_ I suppose so.”

Nodding without much thought, I readjust my bag and relax the tensed grip on the strap. “I’m sorry, but I have to go,” I say quickly, stepping away. It was already becoming awkward—and I didn’t want to be late for school anyway.

Easily disappearing in to the crowd, I keep my head low as I cross the street. The school was just down the road and around the corner. I wouldn’t be late.

Taking a deep breath as I come to a stop in front of the large building, my eyes travel along the exterior nervously as the memories of yesterday flash in my mind. I quickly shake my head. I could do this; I promised Aunt Claire that I wouldn’t skip anymore. And I didn’t like to lie without good cause.

Taking several deep breaths, I force my thoughts to still as I ascend the stairs. The second I enter the school my eyes sweep through the courtyard, quickly observing all the people. My lips press into a thin line as I stiffly make my way to my assigned classroom. All I had to do was keep my head low and keep to myself. No attention meant no trouble.

Reaching the classroom, my body tenses even more as my thoughts race. What would I do if— _no_ , I shake my head sharply; I couldn’t afford to get stuck in my head again, like yesterday.

So, taking yet another deep breath, I step in to the classroom.

Immediately feeling like all eyes were on me, I keep my gaze on the floor and as my hand again grips at the strap of my bag. Quickly moving, I stiffly walk down the aisle, intent on taking the seat all the way in the back.

“Look, Sabrina, it’s that loser from yesterday,” a snooty voice says, much louder than necessarily.

Freezing in my tracks, my jaw clenches as my face flushes in shame as the familiar mixture of anger and fear burns deep in my chest. Of course she’d remember. Quickly breathing through my nose, I force myself to keep moving towards the back of the class.

_Ignore her._

“He can’t even say anything, Sabrina.” The girl laughs mockingly. “How pathetic is that?” She and the other girl start giggling like they said something hilarious.

My feet stop once again as my mind screams at me to _do something_. _Make her be quiet._ “ _Halt deinen Mund_ ,” the order slips out quickly before I clamp my mouth shut and grimace.

Her laughter stops. “Excuse me?”

My pulse picks up and I can’t bring myself to walk away, instead turning to her with narrowed eyes. “I said,” I don’t bother hiding the malice in my voice, “ _be quiet._ ”

The indignant squeal that leaves her mouth grates on my frayed nerves. “You can’t say that to me!” she slams the desk, standing with a glare. “Do you have any idea who my father is!? When I—”

“ _Leck. Mich.”_ I hiss out, facing her fully. It may be childish, telling her to bite me, but my blood was starting to boil at her attitude. If I backed down now, it’d be just like my old school. I’d be a coward that everyone loved to bully.

She gets in my face with a dark glare, making me tense even more. “Listen, _freak_ ,” she practically spits out the word, “you have no idea who you’re messing with. I suggest you beg for forgiveness, before I get _really_ angry.”

I wanted to scoff—tell her she was the least frightening thing I’ve seen—but I clench my jaw even tighter. If I spoke with her any longer I’d lose what little control I had left. Closing my eyes, I force myself to take a deep breath. I could be the mature one and..

An arm reaches across my shoulders as my breath catches in my throat, heart immediately plummeting. _Nonononono._ My thoughts jumble together as my body goes cold. _I didn’t want to be hurt anymore._ My mind blanks as I rip my shoulder out of the strangers grip and swing around. _I wouldn’t let them!_ With blood rushing in my ears, I lash out at the first thing I could touch.

Anything to get them off me.

A loud clatter cuts through the pounding in my ears. Slowly coming back to my senses, my fuzzy sight focuses on the boy groaning on the ground as my chest heaves, painful realization hitting me.

_I hurt someone._

Stumbling away, my knuckles ache in a horribly familiar way. I hurt someone. I slipped up and _hurt someone._ I didn’t—I wasn’t…a chocked apology dies on my tongue as a blonde rushes to his side.

The glare he gave me was enough to freeze my veins.

“To the office, now!” the teacher demands, quickly blocking my view.

Fear settles deep in my stomach, but I nod, swallowing dryly. Not even an hour in and I already screwed everything up. Settling my eyes on the floor I refuse to look at anyone, scared of the hatred that no doubt filled their eyes.

Quickly walking out of the room, with the teacher right beside me, my stomach rolls as I head towards the Principal’s office. When we reach the door she knocks rapidly before entering, a hurried explanation pouring from her lips.

My eyebrows furrow as I frown, rubbing the palm of my hand against my thigh. I wouldn’t run away, not from this, I deserved whatever punishment I was given.

The principal motions to the chairs and I sit quietly, eyes still glued to the ground. “I’ll call Nino’s guardians. Make sure he’s okay while I deal with Mr. Mercier here,” he says calmly, chair squeaking as he sits up.

After a moment the door closes and an uncomfortable silence fills the room. Staring at my lap, I nervously tug at my gloves. He’d probably call my aunt, tell her what happened, and she’d be angry…

“Skipping the first day of school and then attacking another student...you’re already setting a rather unpleasant precedent, Mr. Mercier,” he finally says, making me wince.

Slouching, I refuse to look up and mumble, “‘m sorry.”

“I wish it was that easy, son,” he sighs. “You’ll have to be suspended for the rest of the week. Go wait outside while I make a few calls.”

Nodding, I quickly stand and head to the door, and the second I open it chaos seems to explode before me.

With wide eyes, I watch as the golem from yesterday smashes into my classroom. I thought he was dealt with already?

“What’s happening?” Mr. Damocles says quickly as he rushes from his chair, hearing the commotion down the hall. The ground suddenly shakes as loud roaring echoes from the room. “Go home for now, Evan. I’ll call your guardian later,” he says hastily before leaving his office.

Only waiting long enough to see him enter the classroom, I quickly head down the stairs. I wasn’t about to question the chance to stave off the punishment I’d no doubt get. Doing my best to avoid bumping into all the panicking people rushing around the courtyard, I let out a sigh of relief when I finally exit the school. It wasn’t much quieter, with people gawking at the large hole in the wall, but there were a lot more places to slip away.

Quickening my pace, I keep my head low as I make a beeline for the flower shop. The sooner I could get out of the public eye, the better.

Turning the corner, my steps falter at the sight of the missing golem. It was there next to Aunt Claire’s store just this morning. Now it wasn’t…which meant that it was roaming the city, doing who knows what. Taking a second to glance around, I quickly continue down the street and enter the flower shop, not bothering with the back entrance this time.

Meeting my aunt’s gaze, I quickly explain myself before she could assume anything. “The golem from yesterday attacked the school.”

Her eyes widen. “Are you okay?” she questions quickly, stepping from behind the counter. “Did you get hurt? I knew I should’ve taken you…” Continuing to fret over me, she suddenly gasps. “What about Madeleine? I have to go get her!” With a flourish she throws off her apron and reaches for her keys. Turning back to me, she quickly asks, “Are you coming, Evan?”

Shaking my head, I step out of her way as she heads to the door, only half-listening.

“Okay…okay,” she mumbles, nerves growing frayed. “I’ll lock up while you head upstairs. I should be back in thirty, but my number is still on the fridge if you need anything…” She opens the door before turning to me with a worried look and sighing out, “stay indoors and please be safe.” Taking a moment to lock the door, she rushes past the windows and disappears.

A small spark of anxiety jolts up my spine. I may have only known her for less than a year, but I still didn’t enjoy the thought of her or her daughter getting hurt. Furrowing my brows with a sigh, I shake away the thought and head to the stairs, turning off the light as I pass.

Heading straight up to the attic, I toss my bag to the floor and march over to my bed. Falling into the soft sheets with a huff, my thoughts drift to the hectic morning as the corner of my lip twitches humorlessly. In a way, the reappearance of that golem saved me from a no doubt severe punishment. It would still happen, but at least I’d be able to prepare my mind more.

Rolling to my side, my eyes widen at the sight of a small jewelry box perched on the corner of my desk. “What’s this doing here?” I mumble as I sit up and grab it, fingers brushing lightly over the intricate designs on the lid.  I didn’t remember having something like that.

Opening it, I jerk away as a bright white light explodes from it. _What the heck?!_

Slowly moving my arm from my eyes, my mouth falls open at the sight of a tiny floating rabbit. “What…what are you?” I question quietly, making sure to keep my distance.

Its face lights up. “I’m a Kwami! Blann the Kwami to be exact!” it giggles. “Nice to meet ya!”

I stare at it for a moment before laughing dryly. “I’ve finally gone crazy, haven’t I?” I say mirthlessly, because there was no way a floating rabbit was actually talking to me.

“You’re not crazy. You’re a superhero!”

Leaning back, my leg bounces nervously as I cover my face. “I’m gonna have to tell Dr. Beaumont I’m hallucinating…”

“You can’t tell _anyone_ about me!” I jerk, surprised at the loud yell as it flies right up to me with a fierce look. “You have to keep me a secret if you want to help Ladybug and Chat Noir stop Stoneheart!”

“Who?” I question, giving it a disbelieving look.

It kicks its legs and wiggles its body before answering with a groan. “The giant rock monster!”

My interest piques just enough for me to at least humor it. “Okay, fine,” I sigh out. “But there have to be millions of other people more qualified to help those two. So…” I shoo it towards the balcony, “go find them.”

The rabbit stares at me before tears build in its eyes and its mouth quivers.

Guilt quickly tugs at my heart and I groan at my own malleability. I grew surprisingly weak to crying after leaving home. “Okay, just _please don’t cry_ ,” I say quickly as I sit up properly. “I’ll listen this time, promise.”

In the blink of an eye, the tears disappear as it smiles at me happily. “Great!”

My face blanks as I stare at it. Was I just tricked by a flying rodent?

Without skipping a beat it quickly begins explaining as much as it could. Though, through all the rambling I picked out the most important bits.

  1. I had weapons, tonfas, that i fought with
  2. I had a Miraculous power that temporarily gave me super speed
  3. The bleeping meant I’d change back soon
  4. Something about Ladybug purifying an Akuma
  5. And most importantly, never tell anyone about



Nodding my head halfheartedly, the small rabbit motions to the box and I pick up the bracelet. The whole thing was simple in design, with a blank circled stone connected to a silver chain. Twirling it around, I stare at it for another moment before putting it on with a sigh. While I was still somewhat skeptical about the whole thing, some childish part of me that was buried deep inside was excited at the thought of possibly being a superhero.

“So…all I say is Ears up— _wha!_ ” a strangled yelp dies on my tongue as the Kwami is sucked into the bracelet. A strange air fills the room as I close my eyes, preparing for the worst. After what feels like hours of nothing happening, I cautiously peek around the now empty room. Immediately looking down at my wrist, my eyes widen at the skintight fabric covering both of my arms.

Flinging open my door and flying down the stairs, I stare slack jawed at my reflection in the bathroom mirror as I take in everything—from the white rabbit ears on the top of my head to the white and grey costume—and almost can’t believe it. That thing really wasn’t lying, was it?

The building quakes and I suddenly remember. I was supposed to help the superheroes from yesterday, right?

The ground shakes again and I quickly head back up to my room. Peering over the balcony, I watch as golems march down the street.  That rabbit—Blann, if I remember—said that I was super agile when I was transformed.

So, taking a deep breath, I steel my nerves and jump.

A giddy laugh bubbles up as I land on the other side of the street. _I actually did it!_ Unable to keep the grin off my face, my heart beats excitably in my chest. Noticing the golems disappearing around the corner, I quickly reign in my excitement before taking off after them.

Quietly following after them, I trail to a stop as I take in the chaos surrounding the Eiffel tower. While police officers were preparing to attack, the large golem clinging to the tower didn’t look any more inclined to give up. Suddenly, with a roar, it starts climbing farther up, calling the other rock monsters to follow.

Watching as they all start climbing, I mentally pump myself up before leaping over the blockade and following them up the Eifel tower. _I could do this._

Quickly nearing the top, I do a double take as a golem swipes at one of the heroes from yesterday, Chat Noir. Without really thinking, I leap over the railing and strike it one the head with a yell.

“Gotta watch out, hero,” I say, landing next to the masked blonde.

“I was!” he says quickly before gathering his thoughts. “I mean, who’re you even?”

“I’m…here to help,” I reply, a smile ghosting at my lips at the words. Maybe like this I’d finally be useful to others. Be important.

“Well, _I_ don’t think we need help,” says Chat, crossing his arms and pointing his nose in the air. “Ladybug and I have it under— _!_ ” he yelps as I shove him away from another swinging fist.

I quirk a brow and give him a ‘ _really’_ look, but he pointedly ignores me and instead turns his attention up.

“How’d you plan to get them closer than they already are?” he yells up at Ladybug.

“By using our powers!” she yells back, before noticing me. “Wait, who’re you?”

I strain to look up at her. “I’m here to help!”

“Good, we’ll need it!” she yells again.

Before anything else could be said, the golems attack us again. While I just manage to leap out of the way, Chat Noir isn’t as lucky and goes flying in the air.

As soon as he lands, a hurried, “are you okay,” is already leaving my mouth.

He grins down at me and says, “A cat always lands on his feet.” He then loudly questions Ladybug if she was sure she knew what she was doing.

Leaping on to the satellite next to him, I grin in amazement at the lack of effort it takes to balance on it. _This really was cool._

“I know right? It’s like the best thing ever,” Chat Noir says suddenly.

Realizing that I spoke out loud, my face burns.

“His hand,” Ladybug yells, unknowingly saving me from more embarrassment. “get ready!”

She then yanks the yoyo that was wrapped around Stoneheart’s arm and causes the girl in his hand to kiss him. In surprise it releases her, sending her plummeting towards the ground.

I freeze as my mind screams. _That_ was her big plan? Send some girl falling to her untimely death? My jaw tenses as I jump to the railing. I wasn’t going to let that happen. “Ladybug, parachute!” I yell quickly, glancing up at her as I push myself over the edge.

Hearing her verbal confirmation, I focus all my attention on reaching the screaming girl. Shoving all the fear and worry of touching her into the back of my mind, I grab her by the arm and crush her against my chest. I wasn’t going to let someone die because of me.

Spotting the parachute out of the corner of my eye, I stretch my free arm out and struggle to reach it before finally wrapping my finger around it. Quickly slipping it on, I pull the strap just in time to ease the descent towards the ground.

Releasing the girl as soon as we land, I take a quick inventory of my emotions. I wasn’t angry, or worried, or even afraid…no, I was _excited_ and _relaxed_ and… _happy._

My thrilled musings were cut short as Ladybug lands next to me and throws the spotted parachute in the air. Shouting _“Miraculous Ladybug”_ large groups of ladybugs start flying around as we all watch them in amazement.

As the last ladybugs disappear, a microphone is shoved in my face as a camera crew seems to appear out of nowhere. “Are you the newest superhero to join in protecting the city of Paris?”

I stumble back as I blink. “I…maybe…?”

“What made you decide to become a hero?” “Where were you during the attack yesterday?”

My mind begins to fry at the rapid fire questions. “I—”

“Do you have powers like Ladybug and Chat Noir?” “Is Hawkmoth really a threat?” “What’s your name?”

With every question they draw closer until I finally snap. “Enough,” I bark out, accidently raising my voice. “I’m…” I struggle to think as I remind myself to breathe, “just…call me Lapin Blanc…or something...?” Spotting the heroes of Paris out of the corner of my eye, I make up some lousy excuse and quickly head over to them.

“Are you two alright?” I question, giving them an onceover.

Ladybug smiles. “Yeah, you really helped back there—jumping after Mylene and all.”

“It’s nothin’,” I say dismissively. “I’m just—”

“Here to help,” Chat finishes, rolling his eyes. “I’ve heard that like a million times.”

A carefree grin tugs at the corner of my mouth. “Actually only two,” I say, grin threatening to grow.

He crosses his arms. “Same thing.”

A loud bleeping comes from both Ladybug and Chat Noir, causing Ladybug to look around.

“Hear that? Time to split,” she says, turning away. “See you guys soon.” She throws her yoyo and swings away.

Watching as Chat Noir bows and calls her _my lady_ , I exhale loudly through my nose. Hearing him say that made me want to laugh.

As if almost sensing my struggle, he turns to me. “Don’t let it go to your head or anything…but I thought you were pretty helpful—not as much as me, of course,” he states quickly, “but I hope to see you around.” He smirks before saluting and leaping away.

Unable to fight off a grin, my whole face burns as my emotions sore. They both thought I did good…no one ever thought that about me. Well, maybe no one except…

My breathing stills as I tense. I forgot all about Aunt Claire. If she finds out I left the flower shop, she’d be angry. I had to get back before them.

Leaping across the rooftops, I land on my balcony and quickly head in.

Blann flies from the bracelet and faces me with a large smile. “See? Told ya you were a superhero!”

Sitting in the desk chair, I scratch the side of my head as my ears burn. “I’m sorry for not believing you, but can you blame me?” I question, watching as it floats around. “I mean…someone like me a hero? Unlikely at best.”

“Don’t worry, Evan. If you weren’t meant to be a Miraculous holder, I wouldn’t be here.” It flies closer with a smile. “Just enjoy being Lapin Blanc.”

Relaxing my shoulders, I nod lightly. It was right, I suppose, just enjoying being a hero was probably the best for now. If I worried about it too much, I’d end up overthinking. And overthinking always led to a downward spiral that I never enjoyed.

“You’re right, I haven’t had that much fun since, well….ever,” I finally relent, standing with a small smile.

Its eyes sparkle. “Well, the fun is only beginning!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So you guys finally get to see what caused Evan such turmoil about Nino. Also the first meeting between him, Chat, and Ladybug. Nothing like a little bonding in the midst of fighting to get friendships rolling lol   
> Anyway, I hope you liked having a little peak into the origin's of Evan becoming Lapin Blanc.


	21. Animan

Sitting with Alya and Marinette, I skim through the article in Marinette’s hands. While it was just a fluff piece about Adrien, I could appreciate the composition of the pictures of him. No matter how we got along, it would be a lie if I said he wasn’t an excellent model.

“Adrien is so dreamy,” Marinette says, staring at the full-page print of said blonde.

Alya laughs. “You say that all the time, girl.”

“Only because it’s true!” she objects, quickly becoming entranced with the pictures once again.

With a roll of her eyes, Alya looks over at me with a grin and mouths _“Can you believe her?”_

I grin lightly with a shrug. I couldn’t really judge, I was probably just as taken with Chat—if not more so. Just the thought of him made my chest all fuzzy…

“What’s with the lovey-dovey grin, Evan?” Alya asks suddenly.

 _Love-dovey grin?_ My face warms as I realize that a dopey smile was actually covering my face. Quickly turning away, I rub my cheek in an attempt to stop the growing blush.

Taking a second to compose myself, a knowing smirk is plastered on Alya’s face when I turn back.

“So who is it?” she questions as she leans over Marinette, who suddenly looks equally as interested.

The warmth in my face returns. “It’s not…I mean, I don’t…” My mouth feels dry as I look away, imagining their reaction if I told them I liked Chat Noir. Would they laugh? Maybe be disgusted? Call me _weird_? The possibilities were endless. They weren’t like Aunt Claire, too nice and supporting for her own good, they were Alya and Marinette, my first real friends. I didn’t want to freak them out…scare them away…

“It’s totally Nathanael, isn’t it?” Alya says suddenly, pulling me out of my self-destructive spiral. 

Blinking, I look at her with furrowed brows. Nathanael? Besides the occasional greeting, we never really spoke. “No…” I pause, chewing my lip nervously, “but would it… _bother_ you guys...if I did, I mean?”

Both of their eyes widen as Marinette quickly shakes her head.

“Of course not,” she says.

Alya nods in agreement. “Yeah, no way we’d be like that—you’re a friend.”

Just like that, the tension in my shoulders eases at their earnest expressions. “Thanks.” A soft smile tugs at my lips. “I’m real glad you guys are willing to be my friends.”

They both stare at me in awe and a wave of embarrassment flows through me as I quickly stand. Refusing to look at them, I could practically feel the steam coming off my face. It was embarrassing, being so open like this. “I’ve gotta go,” I breathe out hurriedly, shuffling towards the exit.

“Now wait a minute.” Alya leaps up and falls into step next to me. “You really think we’d let you run away after saying something so cute?”

I slow my speed as the heat in my cheeks worsens.

“Come on, Alya, don’t tease him too much,” says Marinette with a smile, looping her arm with Alya’s. “…Even though it _was_ really sweet,” she giggles after a brief moment.

I fight the urge to scrub at my cheeks again. _Sweet_ and _cute_ weren’t exactly things I considered myself. Aunt Claire and Madeleine were sweet and cute. I was just…Evan Mercier. And the only thing remarkable about him was Lapin Blanc.

…Though it still wasn’t remarkable enough for Chat, was it…?

My chest twinges but I quickly bury the feeling, shoving it into the small Chat shape box in my heart. I’d unpack it later; find a way to convince myself it was all okay, that just staying his friend didn’t hurt that much.

But that was all for later, when I was alone with my thoughts.

Taking a deep breath as we leave the school, I quickly try to think of a way to change the topic. “What about Adrien?” I finally ask, ignoring how Alya rolls her eyes.

“Smooth transition,” she remarks, already knowing that Marinette would take the obvious bait.

She sighs dreamily, falling for the clumsy change of topic. “Oh, he’s such a…”

“Smarty, hotty, suavisimo, yummytastic, spell-binder?” Alya says dramatically.

“All of the above,” she replies.

I chuckle as she buries her face back into the magazine before she suddenly bumps into Nino, it falling from her hands as she blinks up at him.

When neither says anything, Adrien pops out from behind the frozen boy.

“So sorry,” he nudges Nino with his fist, “right, Nino?”

“Sorry,” Nino blurts out, still unmoving.

My confusion is briefly cut short as I notice Marinette’s eyes trail to her fallen magazine. Not wanting her to embarrass herself in front of her crush, I quickly go to grab it as my gloved fingers knock into another’s.

“Sorry," they say quickly.

My hand draws back as I glance up, coming face-to-face with Adrien. Hastily pulling away, I stand and try to ignore the uneasiness in my chest. He was probably upset that he touched me. “It’s fine.”

He stands, magazine in hand, and holds it out to me. “No, look,” he glances away as he scratches the back of his head, “ _I’m sorry._ ”

I furrow my brows as I take the magazine from him. There was something heavy behind his apology, but I wasn’t sure why. “It’s fine...?” I drawl out, trying my best to keep the confusion off my face.

He sighs. “I don’t think that…you know what, never mind.” He shakes his head before turning back to Nino, seeing him still frozen. “Now, how could we make this up to you?” he questions Marinette, tapping his chin thoughtfully before glancing over. “Any ideas, Nino?”

Only receiving a whimper in response, Adrien quickly continues.

“How about we all check out the…” he seems to scramble for a second, “zoo today? Word is they have a new…” he snaps his fingers in front of Nino.

“T-T-They’ve got a new panther,” he chokes out with a tense smile.

“Awesome idea, right Marinette?” Alya says as she pats Marinette’s back with a grin. “You _love_ animals.”

I hold in a chuckle at the dreamy smile taking up most of her face before she snaps out of it.

“Yeah, I, uh, I’m really into zoonimals.” Her eyes widen as she panics at her blunder. “I mean anizools—I mean zoonimals…I…uh…”

Adrien completely ignores her panic as he says, “Cool, say after school, four o’clock? Nino, sound good?” He turns to Nino, who nods quickly. “Cool, four o’clock then.”

With another smile, he drags Nino away as Marinette slips into a daze.

Alya quickly waves her hand in front of the dark-haired girls face. “Earth to Marinette! You do realize the guy you’re completely crazy about just asked you out, right?”

I blink, furrowing my brows. Did he really? I thought it sounded more like a group hangout.

“Yeah…” she sighs out before once again snapping out of her daze, panicking once again. “Wait…what? No! Not like this. Not here, not today! I haven’t washed my hair. I’m not wearing my lucky socks!” she suddenly clings to Alya’s waist. “Help me Alya, I can’t do this alone.”

“Girl, you know I’ll try my best. Though…” her eyes land on me and I stiffen. “Evan might be more helpful, since he’s a guy and all.”

My eyes widen as I take a small step back. “Wha…?”

“That’s right!” Marinette’s heads shoots up, and like a flash she focuses in on me. “What should I do, Evan? I could wear my hair down? Maybe run home and change? Or even…”

“I think you’re fine,” I blurt out, not entirely sure what to say. I mean, how was I supposed to know what Adrien liked?

“There has to be something,” she presses, moving closer as I quickly lean back.

“Firstly, calm down,” I say as I press my finger against her forehead, effectively stopping her from latching onto me. “Secondly, I can’t tell you what to do because I’m not Adrien.”

She continues to give me a begging look. “C’mon, _please?_ ”

I stare down at her before stepping away with a loud sigh. I had no idea what she wanted to hear. “I really think you’re fine the way you are. You’re cute and really nice, so I wouldn’t worry…I guess..?” I trail off, scrunching my brows with an awkward smile.

Alya pats Marinette’s back with a grin, easing her off me. “See? You should just be yourself, Adrien will love you.”

Forgetting her panicky thoughts, she blushes and goes still. “But...”

“You’ll be fine, Marinette. Just have fun.” I lightly rest my hand on her shoulder for a moment before pulling away. “I’ll see you guys tomorrow. You can fill me in then, okay? Good luck.” I give my best encouraging smile as I turn away. Hearing their goodbyes I quickly wave over my shoulder as I head home.

Quickly reaching the flower shop, I duck into the alley and enter through the back door as Madeleine’s loud pleading echoes around inside.

“ _Please, please, please, please,_ _please_?” she begs loudly.

Aunt Claire sighs as I take a passing look at them on my way to the stairs. “I know you want to go to the zoo, Maddie, but I can’t close the shop so early. Maybe I can make time for a day off next month.”

She goes quiet and I catch the dejected look on her face as I slow to a stop, stomach clenching uncomfortably. She and Aunt Claire always tried their hardest to cheer me up, so it didn’t feel right. I mean, she looked so upset…

“I can take her,” I say quickly, their eyes, along with mine, widening at my words.

A large grin immediately spreads across my cousin’s face. “For real, Evan?”

I swallow heavily but nod. There was no way I could be the one to disappoint her.

She jumps away from her mom with an excited yell. “Yes!” she rushes at me and I tense, but she just takes my hands in hers. “You’re the bestest _ever_!”

With her swinging my arms back-and-forth as she chatters happily, a smile pulls at the corner of my mouth as my body relaxes. It was a bit silly being nervous about Madeleine.

“We’re gonna have the bestest time! Let me put my backpack away and then we can go,” she giggles, letting go of my hands as she rushes off.

Hearing her bound up the stairs, my shoulders slump as I sigh. I definitely blurted out something without thinking of the consequences. Still, I couldn’t bring myself to say anything. I’d never forgive myself.

“You don’t have to take her. I know you don’t like large crowds,” Aunt Claire speaks up quickly, giving me a worried look.

“Its fine, I really don’t mind going.” I try to smile reassuringly. “I wanted to take some pictures of the animals anyway.”

Her expression softens. “If you’re sure…”

I nod as Madeleine’s energetic steps echo down the stairs. “I’m ready! Let’s hurry!” she yells as she rushes into the room, grabbing me by the hand and pulling me towards the door.

Letting out a hurried goodbye to Aunt Claire, I match the younger girl’s quick pace as she once again begins chatting excitably.

\---------------------

“…then Tanya—we’re here!” Madeleine yells, pulling me as she rushes towards the admission window.

Quickly paying for our tickets, I cringe at the mumbled thanks I give the employee as we enter the zoo. But before I could dwell on it Madeleine draws my attention by pulling on my hand.

“Have you ever been to a zoo before, Evan?” she questions.

I pause to think before shaking my head. “No, it’s my first time.”

Her eyes widen almost comically. “Then we have to see _everything!_ ” she pulls me along as she marches forward. “We can feed the birds at the aviary and then see the monkeys—maybe we’ll get lucky and get to pet the giraffes! Of course we can’t forget the panther either! Oh man, we have so much to do!” she giggles as she looks up at me. “C’mon, we can’t waste any time!”

Letting her once again set the pace, I trail after her with a small smile. I couldn’t lie; her excitement was a little contagious.

Glancing around as we head deeper into the zoo, I do a double-take when I spot Marinette and Nino sitting awkwardly on one of the benches. I thought she had a date with Adrien?

Before I could say, or do, anything, the bushes rustle from beside us. “Psst. Evan, over here,” a voice whispers as a blonde head of hair appears over the leaves.

Quickly recognizing Adrien, my eyes widen. What was he doing hiding in the bushes?

Not entirely sure what to do, I glance down at Madeleine, only to see her curiously staring at my classmate.

Seeing him wave me over again, I pause for a moment before ducking behind the bush with him.

“Um…hello…?” I greet hesitatingly with an unsure smile.

Adrien peers out at Marinette and Nino before turning to Madeleine and I. “Sorry for waving you over, but Nino’s already freaking out. He’d probably bolt if he got the chance.”

I nod lightly as I avert my eyes from his, not willing to really question it. Whatever they were doing wasn’t really any of my business, and I didn’t want to push the boundaries with Adrien. He may be friendlier today, but I didn’t want to say the wrong thing and make him hate me even more.

Madeleine, on the other hand, isn’t scared to talk to him in the slightest. “I know you, you’re Adrien Agreste!” she whisper-yells as she tugs on my hand excitably. “You’re on some of those magazines Evan has. And also on that post—”

I quickly cover her mouth knowing _exactly_ where she was going. There was no way I was about to let Adrien Agreste himself know I had a poster of him. With my ears burning in embarrassment, I clear my throat with a forced smile. “A-Anyway, we should probably go. I don’t want to be in the way...” I trail off as I back out of the bush.

“Wait,” he says quickly. “I can never find the right time, but I wanted to—”

A loud scream cuts him off and I quickly turn my attention towards the sound. Seeing Kim and Max run pass, my brows furrow. What was coming?

Almost as if answering my question, a panther shoots by as a large group of animals follow after it.

Quickly pulling Madeleine down to hide, I notice Adrien still standing and grab him by the wrist. “You gotta hide,” I hiss out quietly as I pull him towards me, breath hitching when he stumbles into me.

With his hair shoved in my face, my heart flutters unexpectedly. Doing my best to ignore it—along with the warmth on my face—I shift away and balance him with my hand. “Sorry,” I mumble stiffly, to busy being disgusted at myself. Not from the touching, but from the fact that, for just a moment, a wild urge to pull him closer overtook me. Having him so close reminded me so much of Chat that it was an almost instinctual desire to touch him. I let go of his wrist and stand. Or, most likely, I was _just_ desperate enough to see in Chat in others.

Lightly shaking my head, I force the blonde superhero out of my mind and instead focus on somehow getting Madeleine and Adrien somewhere safe. “We need to go,” I say, peering over the bushes at the now empty sidewalk.

“But where?” asks Madeleine as she tightens her grip on my hand.

Gently squeezing back, I give her a reassuring smile before looking around. Anywhere inside was probably the best. “Be quiet and follow me,” I whisper lowly, just loud enough for both of them to hear before stepping out from behind the bushes.

Pulling Madeleine along (who now had a hold of Adrien’s hand) I keep my attention on my surroundings for any freed animals as we head towards the zoo’s entrance.

Seeing another group just ahead, Madeleine slips out of my hand and rushes towards them with an excited whispered-yell.

Biting down a shout of her name, I grab Adrien by the wrist without thinking and run after her. What was she thinking?

Reaching her as she throws her arms around a young black haired girl, it takes everything in me to not berate her for running away. I didn’t want to say something mean in the heat of the moment. “Please don’t do that,” I settle on instead, shoving my frustration down into the deepest, darkest part of me.

Feeling Adrien flinch, I realize the hand on his wrist has tightened to an uncomfortable degree and quickly release him like I’ve been burned, shoving my hands in the pockets of my jeans. A swirl of guilt bubbles in my stomach as I look away from him, apology on the tip of my tongue. But before I could say anything, Madeleine’s voice drowns out my words as she finally releases the girl.

“Evan, this is my best friend Tanya!” she says, pulling her to me excitably. “And Tanya, this is my big cousin Evan! He’s the _greatest_!”

My mouth twitches into an awkward smile as I greet the small girl with a nod as her parents approach me.

“You must be Claire’s nephew…” the woman scrunches her face in thought, “… _Evan_ , right?”

I nod, shoulders tensing.

“She talks about you all the time,” she says happily before frowning. “A pity we couldn’t meet in better circumstances though.”

“Hun,” her husband starts quickly, “I think we should continue this conversation in the car, don’t you?”

“Oh, you’re absolutely right, darling,” she agrees. “Both of you come with us and we can take you home.”

I almost sigh in relief. While I didn’t _like_ the thought of riding with strangers—it honestly made my stomach queasy—but if it would get Madeleine and Adrien home safe faster, I wasn’t about to let my… _issues_ …risk their safety. “Thank you, ma’am,” I say, doing my best to smile naturally. “But what about…” I look behind me at Adrien, only to see nothing. “Adrien?” I furrow my brows as I turn fully around. Why would he leave?

“Are we going, Evan?” questions Madeleine as she tugs on the flannel tied around my waist.

Turing back to her, I shove away my concern over the missing blonde. If he didn’t want to go with us I couldn’t make him. Instead, I briefly debate going with them, making sure my cousin got home safely. But the guilt of hiding away in the midst of an Akuma attack was greater than the guilt of worrying Madeleine.

Besides, I could do more as Lapin anyway.

Taking a deep breath, I kneel down and lightly put my hands on Madeleine’s shoulders. “I can’t go with you, Maddie.”

Tears gather in her eyes as she stomps her foot. “But you promised! Promised that you wouldn’t do anything that would get you hurt!” she cries loudly.

Flinching at her loud tone, I quickly shush her and give her a serious look. “I know I promised, but…” my mind races for a plausible excuse and Adrien’s face pops in my head. “I can’t let Adrien run around by himself. I know you’ll be safe, but what about him?” I question her, silently apologizing to the blonde for using him like this.

The tears almost instantly disappear as her eyes seem to twinkle excitably. “Is he the one you like?”

I blink dumbly. “ _Hä?_ ” I sigh out as I poke her forehead. _Me_ like _Adrien_? “That’s not possible.” I stand and shake my head. “He’s just…a friend of a friend.”

She doesn’t look even a little bit convinced as she sighs out, “fine…” before, suddenly, a large grin wipes away any trace of lingering sadness. “Just make sure to come straight home after you find your _not-boyfriend_ , okay?”

I hold in a grumble at her words and scratch the side of my head. It seemed like everyone was in a teasing mood today. “Adrien isn’t…” I pause as she gives me a look, “forget it. Just go before the animals come back,” I sigh out, because there wasn’t any point in trying to convince Madeleine she was mistaken.

Her grin slips into a smirk as she grabs her friend’s hand. “Tell your _boyfriend_ I said hi!” she giggles, causing the other girl to join.

Internally rolling my eyes, I nod half-heartedly. She was as bad as Alya and Marinette. “Be safe and stay indoors. I’ll be home soon.”

Giving me a tight hug, Madeleine says goodbye and walks away with the other family. Watching as they leave, Blann flies out of my camera case and the large grin on his face makes me already know what he was thinking.

“What are you waiting for, Evan? Let’s go find your _not-boyfriend_ ,” he giggles.

This time rolling my eyes, I bring my wrist up and groan out, “Blann, ears up.”

Quickly transforming, I hop onto the nearby lamppost and survey the area. With Madeleine going somewhere safe, I’d hopefully be able to focus on helping Ladybug and Chat Noir.

Leaping from light to light, I quickly spot the two of them protecting Kim from a panther. Leaping towards them, I throw the terrified boy over my shoulder. “I’ve got him, guys. Keep the cat busy and I’ll get him somewhere safe," I say, grinning at the two of them and quickly taking off.

With the panther at my heels, it tumbles to the ground as Ladybug’s yoyo wraps around its legs. Not wasting anytime I reach the tall fence and jump over to the other side. As soon as my feet touch the ground I take off in a random direction. I was fast, but I didn’t want to find out if the panther was faster.

Ignoring the screams of the boy slung over my shoulder, I keep my eyes and ears open for any sign of the animals from the zoo. The streets, like always, were deserted enough to allow for some breathing room. My pace slows slightly as the tension in my shoulders eases. Akumatized people were always easier to deal with when we didn’t have to worry about others getting hurt.

Nearing the bridge, I quicken my steps again. All I had to do was get him somewhere safe and I could rejoin Chat and Ladybug. As my mood improves at the thought, my eyes widen as a familiar panther appears in front of me. Unable to stop quickly enough, my legs get tangled around themselves as I crash to the ground.

Letting out a groan as most of Kim’s weight crashes on to my back, I force myself up and cough into my hand. “Get going,” I order, glancing behind me as Kim scrambles away.

The panther advances and growls, “Give me the kid.”

Seeing Kim still on the ground, I gather my thoughts before hoping up and pulling out my tonfas. “Sorry, but I don’t think so.”

“Last chance.” It glares at me and bares it fangs.

Swallowing the instinctual fear at the sight, I slap on a casual smile and spin the metallic weapons in my hands. Showing fear would give it an advantage and shake the faith Kim had in me to protect him. “There’s only one kitty I’m willing to listen to and as far as I can tell…” I make a show of looking the large cat over, “you’re not him.”

Reaching its last straw, it growls threateningly and leaps at me. Not willing to move with a frozen Kim behind me, I raise my arms up and silently hope my tonfas could withstand the bite of a panther.

Just as it’s about to reach me it abruptly stops and crashes to the ground, Ladybug standing behind him with her yoyo wrapped around his leg.

“You’re not getting away this time!” Ladybug says loudly as Chat lands next to Kim.

With my anxiety ebbing at the sight of the other heroes, I slip my tonfas back onto my belt and stretch as I roll my shoulders. Kim was a little heavier than I expected, but I guess I grew too used to carrying around Chat and Ladybug. Looking down at the panther, my brows furrow as I cross my arms. “That was pretty easy…”

 _A little too easy_.

The large cat glares up at me. “You’ll never get me,” it growls before changing into an eagle.

With wide eyes I quickly head to the side of the bridge and watch if fly away. So, whoever this person was they were able to shapeshift into different animals…

“Now we know how it got away earlier,” says Chat as he crouches on the concrete railing beside Ladybug.

She glances at the two of us. “Where’s Kim?”

Pulling out his staff, he shows us the moving paw on his GPS and a reply dies on the tip of my tongue when Ladybug scratches under his chin.

“Good job, kitty,” she praises, before taking off towards the location on the map.

Chat smirks as he looks at me and I force a, hopefully, natural looking grin.

“I’ll race you,” he says, running after Ladybug as soon as the words leave his mouth.

Letting the grin slip off my face I berate myself for feeling so hurt over the friendly gesture. Taking a deep breath, I rush after him, mind lingering on the all too familiar sting echoing in my chest.

Dr. Beaumont said it wasn’t healthy to bottle feelings up, but if I didn’t, I’d probably shove Chat down and either punch him or kiss him—probably punch _then_ kiss him if I’m being honest.

…And that was one of the problems, wasn’t it? If we did ever… _kiss_ —I can’t keep down the warmth that spreads across my face—I’d want it to be willing. And it couldn’t ever _be_ willing, could it? Because Chat was attracted to girls, while I was attracted to Chat.

Flinching at my own pessimistic self-loathing, I instead focus of the feeling of the wind hitting my face. Today was filled with so much pointless thinking that it was exhausting.

Catching up to Ladybug, I smirk at Chat when I pass him by. The grin wasn’t completely honest, but it was a lot easier than last time. Reaching the building where the tracker stopped, I touch the rooftop before Chat.

“Better luck next time, kitten,” I drawl out as he lands on the railing next to me.

He glares at me with a huff. “I call a rematch after all this is over.”

I grin, the heaviness of my earlier thoughts starting to fade. Chat just had that effect on me. Helped forget the ugliness etched in my mind.  “Whatever you say,” I shrug, crossing my arms with a smug smirk. “Don’t expect me to go easy on you though.”

Chat looks appalled as he places his hand over his heart. “Me? Expect an easy race? Perish the thought, bunny. Besides—” he grins as he points at me—“I want to watch your face when I beat you fair and square.”

“Could you two please act a little more serious?” Ladybug sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose.

“It’s fine.” Chat waves his hand. “He’s safe inside this building. Panthers can’t open doors so it won’t get inside.”

“Panthers can’t. But what if he morphs into a smaller animal, like a mouse? Or…”

“Right…” he grabs his chin in thought. “But we do have an advantage over him.”

I hum quietly as I lean against the railing and prop my head in my hand. “Is it knowing where that boy is?” I question, glancing up at Chat out of the corner of my eye.

“Exactly!” he agrees, smacking his fist into his palm.

Ladybug frowns as she says, “Animan will sniff him out sooner or later, but it’s bought us a bit of time to plan our next move.”

I quietly nod along before letting out an amused huff at the sight of a man screaming as he runs down the street away from a large bear. Immediately feeling the disapproving stare of Ladybug, I clear my throat and pointedly avoid eye contact.

“We have to stop Animan before Paris turns into a jungle,” Chat says. When Ladybug nods and jumps off the roof, he gives me a thumbs up before following after her.

Roughly pinching one of my warm cheeks, I shake my head before leaping down after them. He was just being nice and diverting Ladybug’s attention off me.

Stepping into the bakery behind them, my stomach almost growls at the smell filling the air.

Only half-listening as Ladybug stumbles in greeting the two adults, I stare down at all the different kind of desserts filling the display cases. Sweets were a rarity when I was a kid—mostly given to me by theolder woman down the street—and the ones my aunt would make didn’t even compare to the ones in front of me.

“Would you like one?”

Nearly jumping out of my skin, I look up and stumble away from the large man and swallow a fluster reply. “Uh—I—sorry,” I choke out, cheeks warming in frustrated embarrassment. How stupid did I look? Being so swept up in the pastries that I momentarily forgot what the purpose of coming here was.

“It’s alright, Lapin Blanc,” Mr. Dupain laughs. “I’m sure all that running around makes you hungry.”

I chuckle awkwardly as I scratch the side of my head. While I _was_ hungry, it was still embarrassing having it called out so casually. “Thank you, sir, but I don’t have any money.”

He laughs. “Don’t worry about it. It’s the least I could for a hero of Paris.” With a smile he grabs the tray of desserts out of the glass case and presents them to me. “Go ahead and choose one, free of charge.”

My mouth practically waters at the sight.

Before I could grab one, Ladybug calls me over. Momentarily freezing, my eyes dart between the pastries and her before I sigh. We were busy saving Paris; I didn’t have time to relax right now. Giving Mr. Dupain an apologetic look, I step away and trail behind Ladybug as she follows the older woman.

She leads us upstairs and motions to the sitting area with a friendly smile. “Please, make yourselves comfortable.”

Watching as Chat goes to examine the items on the bookshelf, I fight the urge to stick close to him and instead sit on one of the barstools. Being in a stranger’s house was hard on my nerves and my first instinct was to stick to something familiar. Doing my best to control the nervous energy bubbling inside me, I sweep my gaze across the room before focusing on the news playing on the TV.

Listening as the reporter talks about the zoo breakout, Ladybug eventually turns off the TV and looks at Kim.

“You’ll be safe here,” she says, before pointing at his wristband. “Can I borrow this?”

“Sure.” He slips it off and hands it too her.

With the object in her hands, she heads to the door. “Come one, Chat Noir, Lapin Blanc.”  She glances at us before addressing the others. “Make sure you lock all the doors and windows.”

“We’ll take care of the rest. You guys just stay safe.” Chat comments as I nod in agreement.

“Thanks, da…uh…” Ladybug stutters before quickly correcting herself, “sir, for all your help.”

“You’re welcome, Ladybug,” Mr. Dupain says happily, resting his arms on his wife’s shoulders.

With one last nod, the three of us head out the door, Ladybug slipping the wristband on the end of the banister as we head backstairs.

Staring out at the animals roaming the street, I lean closer to the glass as Chat gaps at the chaos. “Do you think I could manage to ride on an elephant?” I finally ask, glancing at the hero besides me for a moment before focusing back outside.

“Yeah, right,” Chat scoffs. “You’d need a—” the sound of a spray can makes me look back in time to see the back of his head being sprayed. “Whoa, what’s that stuff?” He turns toward Ladybug as he fans the air in front of his face.

She holds up the can. “Air freshener. It’ll cover up our scent so he won’t notice.”

“Thanks, I always wanted to smell like—” he pauses to sniff himself—“ocean summer breeze.”

I frown. It didn’t smell like that. “No way that’s an ocean smell,” I say, leaning closer and sniffing the crook of his neck, making a face at how it covers his normal smell. “It smells more like…” trailing off I quickly realize just how close we were, my face burns as I clumsily pull away from him. “Uh…you…I mean…it smells…like…lavender…?” I choke out, a nervous laugh bubbling up my throat.

Their confused faces only worsen my embarrassment as blood rushes in my ears, room suddenly too cramped and too warm. Ignoring the urge to run away, I nervously glance around the bakery.

“Are you okay, Lapin?” questions Chat, reaching towards me.

Quickly shuffling away, my back bumps against the glass door. Wishing for the ability to disappear, I hastily glance around in an attempt to find something to use for a distraction. If he got any closer I feared that my heart would stop working at this point. Purposefully avoiding eye contact with the both of them, I blurt out the first thing that I thought would shift their attention. “How are we supposed to catch this Animan guy anyway?”

Breathing a sigh of relief when Chat stops moving towards me, I let my thoughts settle. He really didn’t know how hard it was, keeping my feelings to myself when he was so casual about touching.

As my heart finally starts to slow, Chat grabs a box off the counter. “Couldn’t we capture him in something like this?” he questions.

“Only until he transforms into something bigger.” Ladybug suddenly gasps before walking towards me. Seeing her focused on something outside, I move out of the way and follow her gaze. “Would that be a big enough cage?” she questions, eyeing the bus with a serious look.

“Definitely,” Chat says, once again invading my personal space as he steps closer for a better view of the vehicle. “But how do we get him inside of there—he’s coming,” he says quickly, pulling us down to hide.

Momentarily stunned from the warmth of his hand on my shoulder my body shudders in the overwhelmingly strong urge to wrap my arms around him. Instead, I bite the inside of my cheek until it stings and the urge passes.

I really needed to keep my impulses in better check.

An eagle screeches in the distance and I quickly peak outside as it passes by.

“It’s working,” Ladybug says. “He’s sniffing out Kim.”

Digging my fingers into the aching muscles in my shoulder, I watch the bird fly around in an attempt to narrow down Kim's scent. Turning away from the glass when Ladybug sighs at us to follow her, I stretch my arms out and dutifully listen.

After hiding upstairs, Ladybug easily traps a normal ladybug in the small box. “A ladybug? Smart choice,” she says, smiling.

Almost immediately it changes back to a panther. Chasing us out of the bakery, it follows us towards the bus as Chat yells, “Couldn’t he have chosen a slower moving animal?”

Jumping into the bus, we quickly run to the back. Squished behind a pair of seats with Ladybug prone across my back, angry snarling grows closer as we all look at each other and nod. Ladybug and Chat leap to the front while I stay behind the animal, effectively trapping it between us.

Watching Ladybug as she tries to find a way to open the doors, my gaze shoots back to the panther as it transforms into a huge bear. When Chat doesn’t move, I furrow my brows angrily and rush forward.

_Chat was going to get himself hurt not paying attention!_

Sliding in-between Animan’s legs, I take out Chat’s legs and send him toppling down just as the bear swipes at him. Holding in a pained hiss at the way his elbow crashes into my ribs, I hesitate for a moment before wrapping my arms around his waist and maneuvering him under me. Before I could get up on my own, a large paw presses into my back and traps me.

Desperately trying to move, a loud roar sounds just behind me and I still with a glare. This was idiotic. I mean, how many times have I ended up in this situation? At this point you’d think I would be more cautious when fighting. I sigh in frustration before realizing just what position I was in. Even though I wasn’t able to properly lift my head, I could recognize the body beneath me any day.

 _He_ was under me.

_Chat Noir was under me._

My heart picks up in pace as I inhale sharply. How long has it been since I was close to him again? I tried so hard to keep a physical distance, to get over my feelings, but I never realized just _how much_ I missed being close to him.

...He was as warm as I remembered…

The moment is broken as Animan’s huge paw presses more firmly against my back and I narrow my eyes. Chat and I needed to get free before something bad happened.

“Don’t move, Lapin,” Chat breathes in my ear, moving slightly under me.

The sound of a pained snarl followed by the lack of pressure on my back makes me jump up with a deep, relieved sigh. The earlier train of thought threatens to pull my attention, but I discreetly pinch my cheek and shake my head. Fight now, daydream later.

Throwing her yoyo, Ladybug wraps it around the bear before it quickly transforms back into a ladybug and slips free. It then dodges Chat’s staff before turning back into a panther, swaying slightly from exhaustion.

“All these transformations seem to be tiring him out,” she says, watching as it pants.

Chat turns to us. “Then just let him tire himself out. It’ll make it easier to capture his Akuma.” Using his Cataclysm to short circuit the bus, the three of us leap out of it before it breaks down completely.

“It’s not exactly a cage but…it’ll do.” Ladybug nods as she looks at the large vehicle.

“Yeah, nice thinking, Chat,” I compliment, crossing my arms with a grin.

He smirks and bows. “Why thank you, I do try.” Seeing Animan change back into a bear, he doesn’t miss a beat and says, “I don’t think he can _bear_ to listen to that noise.”

“You’re almost too much to bear.” Ladybug rolls her eyes and pushes him away with a smile. “Now we wait.”

Chuckling at both of them, I let my arms fall to my side and start stretching my legs. I could be in and out before Animan could muster the strength to transform again.

“You ready?” questions Chat as he looks over at me.

Giving him a thumbs up, I turn my attention to the rapidly transforming villain. “Get the doors and I’ll be able to grab the bracelet, no problem.”

“Good,” Ladybug points at the exhausted panther, “because it’s working.”

But before any of us could get closer, it begins shaking. The three of us take a small step back before a T-Rex rips its way out of the bus.

I watch in stunned silence it roars loudly. Weren’t dinosaurs extinct?

“Hey! Since when do extinct animals count?” Chat yells, glaring at the large dinosaur.

“T-Rex might’ve disappeared a long time ago, but _technically_ it’s still an animal, “Ladybug counters.

I make a face. “It still doesn’t seem fair.”

The T-Rex jumps down and roars at us.

“Well, fair or not, I know of some other animals that will soon be extinct…” Chat turns as we all start running, “the cat, ladybug, and rabbit!”

Dodging the dinosaur’s sharp teeth as it follows after us, it crashes into a building, allowing us just enough time to hide behind a nearby car.

Using her Lucky Charm, Ladybug stares down at the red and black carjack in her hands. “A carjack?” she questions, furrowing her brows.

“Too bad Animan doesn’t have any flat tires,” Chat says, peaking over that car at him.

Ladybug also stands. “Look how small his front arms are…”

I slide further to the ground and knead at my shoulder as I listen to them quietly.

“So he won’t be so great at basketball.” Chat shrugs as he sits back down. “What are you getting at?”

“You climb on top of him so he can’t swipe at you—” she then looks at me—“and you stay just out of reach. Then, while you guys are distracting him, I’ll floor him!”

I notice Chat smirk out of the corner of my eyes. “Sounds like a plan. I _can_ be very distracting…” he says, leaning towards her.

I smile humorlessly as I look away from the scene. Couldn’t they at least flirt somewhere without me? I mean, how cruel could it get?

The car is suddenly crushed and we scatter away.

As the T-Rex focuses on Chat I stick close to the tail, doing my best to ignore the urge to protect the other hero. Instead, I focus on my breathing and wait for him to jump on the dinosaurs back. When he does, I activate my Adrenaline and jump around, effectively avoiding the lumbering tail swinging around. Seeing Ladybug’s yoyo wrap around the T-Rex’s legs, I pull back just in time to avoid being crushed.

Chat and Ladybug stop next to me as we looks over the trapped dinosaur.

“It’s weird we didn’t have to use this. What does it mean?” Ladybug muses.

Chat smirks. “I guess it means we rock as a team.”

Quickly grabbing his wrist as he tries to move closer to Animan, I ignore the way my hand tingles at the contact and, somewhat reluctantly, let go when he turns to me. “You probably shouldn’t get close. It still has a mouth full of sharp teeth.”

Then, as if to prove my point, the T-Rex roars and snaps at us.

Raising a brow, I cross my arms and stare at Chat. I told him so. Hearing Ladybug mumbling to herself, I turn just in time to see her charging toward the dinosaur.

“Ladybug!” Chat and I yell in unison as she leaps his open mouth.

My blood freezes as I stare in horror. That thing just… _ate_...Ladybug. My hand balls into a fist as anger starts to boil inside me. Ladybug's my friend. She's not allowed to die before me.

“You’re so gonna pay for this!” Chat yells, pulling my attention to him as he twirls his staff.

Nodding in agreement, I grab my tonfas and grip the handle almost painfully tight. “I have no problem making the T-Rex an extinct species again,” I sneer, training my anger filled gaze on the still trapped dinosaur.

But before either of us could attack, his jaw starts moving and the sight of Ladybug prying open his mouth almost makes me go slack. In a shocked silence, I watch as she breaks the bracelet and purifies the Akuma. In these moments, I easily understood how Chat could like her.

Not wasting any time, I rush over to her as soon as the ladybugs appear and wrap my arms around her, crushing her against my chest. “Try not to do that again,” I breathe out, fighting the urge to tighten my hold even more. “I seriously thought you were a goner.”

A hand on my arm takes me out of the moment as I turn to Chat. “Okay, okay, it’s my turn now,” he whines, tugging on me lightly.

Pulling away to look at him, I allow myself to indulge just this once and wrap one of my arms around him and pull him into a group hug.

He only resists for a moment before an arms go around me and Ladybug. “That was a wild ride,” he says finally, the hand on my back tensing slightly.

Holding them tight for anther moment, I commit the feeling to memory before releasing them. The amount of relief I felt holding the two was indescribable. “For real though, let’s keep the overly dangerous acts of heroism reserved for me,” I say, shaking my head with a smile before two sets of bleeping sounds fill the air.

Suddenly feeling a little embarrassed, I glance at my bracelet as the other glowing ear disappears. “Looks like I’ve gotta bounce. See you guys later.” I wave before quickly leaping up on the nearby building.

Pausing to watch Chat head in the other direction, I look at Ladybug for a moment. I really couldn’t bring myself to dislike her just because Chat liked her. She was a close friend before she was a rival. And even then, I sort of hoped they ended up together. It might force me to get over how I felt and I could have some peace in knowing that Chat was truly happy.

I shake my head and smile lightly to myself as I turn away and start heading home. I refused to let myself worry right now; I did that too much today already.

Reaching home, I drop down into the alley and quickly transform. With Blann hidden, I pull out my key and try my best to sneak inside. Because there was no way Madeleine didn’t tell Aunt Claire about meeting my _“boyfriend”_ at the zoo earlier.

The second the door closes, my aunt peaks in with an overly excited grin. “Evan, welcome back."

“Yeah, I hid out until everything went back to normal…” I say, narrowing my eyes at her suspiciously. When she doesn’t say anything else, some of the tension in my shoulders eases. Maybe Madeleine didn’t say anything, after all…?

Smiling at her, I move towards the stairs, already imagining the feeling of my bed. I’d relax for a little bit then decide how to spend the rest of my day. A shower sounded good.

Before I could go up the stairs, a question makes me freeze and look at my aunt with wide eyes. “Excuse me?” There was no way I heard her correctly.

“I _said_ , come tell me about this Adrien fellow."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Guess who finally managed to finish a chapter! I struggled somewhat with this chapter (mostly getting Evan were he needed to be) but it somehow ended up almost 8,000 words??
> 
> But, besides the ridiculous length, it's just the typical quiet pinning over a still clueless Chat Noir and being all self-sacrificial. What's new, right? 
> 
> Anyway, hope you guys enjoyed and have a great week!


	22. Simon Says

Placing the box of props down, I glance up at the assistant photographer, Mr. Laurent, for further instructions. Receiving nothing but hurried thanks as he starts pulling out different items, I quickly move away and glance around the bustling photography room.

Lacroix Studios was usually a calm place but today seemed to be a huge exception. Between important data getting corrupted, one of the photographers getting sick, and a scheduling error, everything seemed to crash its way through the usually orderly building. It ended up bad enough that the usually composed Mr. Lacroix was barely keeping his frustration in check.

Stretching, I roll my shoulders and dig my fingers into the aching muscles. While it wasn’t overly difficult carrying things to and from the prop room, the constant repetitive motions made the usual tension in my shoulders almost painful. I pause and groan quietly to myself, already imagining how it would be when I _wasn’t_ a healthy fourteen years old boy.

“The flowers come yet, Mari?” Mr. Laurent shouts, voice somehow carrying over the loudness of everyone else.

Mrs. Engel peaks her head out of the makeup room with a glare. “And how am I supposed to know? I deal with the models, _remember?_ ” she almost hisses, disappearing back through the open door just as quickly as she appeared.

Mr. Laurent furrows his brows and mumbles something to himself before glancing over at me with excited eyes. “Your…aunt, right? Owns a flower place not too far from here?” he questions quickly, barely holding in his growing elation.

Doing my best not to shy away from him, I nod slowly, already having a good idea of what he wanted.

“Great!” he shouts and I flinch at the loud tone. Realizing how loud he was, he coughs out an apology before digging his hand in his pocket and pulling out a handful of bills. “Take this—” he drops the crinkled money in my hand—“and buy about three dozen pink carnations.”

Staring down at my hand, I glance at him with a small frown as I bite the inside of my cheek. The streets were crowded this time of day, not to mention the shortest route was blocked off by construction. So surely it would be faster to just have someone drive over? Unless…

My eyes dart down to my bracelet as an idea eats at my brain. Would it really be okay to use my Miraculous for something so mundane? I mean, I’ve used it for less, haven’t I?

Nodding, more to myself than Mr. Laurent, I stuff the money in my pocket. “I’ll be as quick as I can, sir.”

Watching as the tension in him seems to disappear as he sighs in relief, I tilt my head in goodbye before leaving. Dodging and avoiding everyone as they move to and fro, I finally reach the stairwell and allow myself a moment of silence as the door clicks shut behind me.

With the only noise muffled words, my wired nerves finally have time to calm themselves.

“Everything’s pretty wild in there today,” Blann squeaks, flying out of the camera case around my neck.

Huffing in agreement, I start heading up the stairs. “I know. I never thought it could get so bad.”

He lies on my shoulder and hums thoughtfully. “Too bad you have to miss Nino’s TV thing, though. It sounded fun,” he sighs out wistfully.

I frown lightly and tug at my gloves as I bite the inside of my cheek, mind wondering to Nino for a brief moment. He was so excited the other day, bragging about how he was lucky enough to get to go on some TV show called _The Challenge_. He even invited me to come along.

“I still feel a little bad,” I finally say, sighing quietly.

“Don’t worry, Evan,” Blann pats my cheek, “Marinette and Adrien are going with him so he won’t be alone.”

I pause and furrow my brows. That’s right; he already had other people coming, so he didn’t really need me there. “You’re right,” I sigh out as I continue down the stairs. I’d just make the whole thing awkward since Adrien was also going anyway.

“It’s too bad though…” he sighs out dramatically, causing me to glance at him suspiciously. “I’m sure you’re _not-boyfriend_ misses you.”

I roll my eyes with a groan as he giggles. I was never going to live this down, was I? The sheer amount of overly excited fussing I had to endure from my aunt and cousin was enough for an entire lifetime.

Reaching the roof door, I glance around once more before easing it open and stepping outside. Rolling my shoulders I look over at the small rabbit with a grin.

“Blann, ears up.”

Transforming, I stretch for a moment before taking a running leap to the next building. Landing with ease, I continue my momentum and make my way towards Aunt Claire’s.

Quickly reaching the flower shop, I jump down into the alleyway before changing back. Letting Blann settle back into my camera case as I slip out of hiding, I pull out the crumpled money and enter my aunt’s shop.

“Oh! Welcome back, Evan,” Aunt Claire greets after a moment of surprise. “You’re back early.”

“Hi, Aunt Claire.” I smile with a dip of my head as I approach her. “I actually need three dozen pink carnations for a photoshoot,” I explain, glancing at her as I place the money on the counter.

She nods with a smile. “Of course, sweetie, just a moment.” Disappearing into the backroom, she appears a moment later with an armful of bouquets and lays them in front of me.

Watching as she rings up the order on the cash register, a frown suddenly tugs at the corners of her mouth.

“Is everything okay?” I question lightly, hiding the why my pulse quickens.

“Don’t worry, Evan, I just ran out of paper for the receipts is all,” she says as she looks up at me. “Could you go upstairs and grab it?” she gives me a pleading look. “A new box came last night and it’s on the table.”

My eyes dart to the clock on the wall. Using my Miraculous cut the usual time it took in half, so I had more than enough time to help Aunt Claire. Agreeing with a nod, I step around the counter and head into the backroom and up the stairs.

As soon as I open the door, I spot Madeleine lying on the couch on the opposite side of the room. “I thought you weren’t allowed to watch TV when you’re grounded?” I question, grinning lightly as she jumps in surprise.

“Don’t scare me like that!” she whines as she sits up, propping herself up on the arm of the couch to look at me. “And there’s nothing else to do anyway,” she sighs loudly, flinging herself back onto the cushions.

I shrug my shoulders before grabbing the box off the table. “It could be a lot worse, considering you yelled at your mom after she grounded you,” I remark, remembering the angry shouting the normally bubbly redhead did that day.

A loud huff drowns out the noise of the commercial playing. “Still, all I did was fail a few tests this week,” she grumbles before a sitting up with a gasp. “What are they doing?”

Following her gaze as she stares openmouthed at the TV, my brows furrow at the sight of people acting like animals. “Are they…supposed to do that?” I question, watching one of the men grunt and jump around.

She shakes her head fiercely, looking at me with wide eyes. “No way! The Challenge is about doing challenges, not acting silly!”

 _The Challenge?_ Isn’t that…my eyes widen as my stomach drops. My friends were there!

“I-I see…I have to go, but I’ll be back later.” I clear my throat as I turn away. “Bye,” I say quickly, throwing open the door and doing my best to stop myself from running down the stairs.

Placing the box on the counter when I get downstairs, I hastily stuff the change in my pocket. “ _I gotta go_ ,” I say in a quick breath, pausing just long to gather the large bouquets in my arms.

Shoving open the glass door, I ignore Aunt Claire’s confused shout and rush down the street before ducking into a random alley. Moving away from any possible prying eyes I shift the flowers into one arm and bring my bracelet eye level as Blann flies from the camera case. “Blann, ears up!”

Leaping up to the rooftop, I do my best to shield the flowers from the wind as I quickly make my way back to the studio.

Reaching the building, I skid to a stop on the roof and change back. The receptionist was probably busy enough that she wouldn’t notice me even if I came back through the front. And I had time I couldn’t waste using the entrance. Rushing down the stairs, I do my best to see over the large amount of flowers as my teeth dig into the inside of my cheek nervously. The likelihood that I’d have to lie to Mr. Lacroix so I could leave was a big possibility. And, while lying was something I could do, I didn’t particularly enjoy doing it to people I cared for.

Almost continuing past the floor I needed to go to, I stop and take a moment to compose myself. Wiping the sweat from my forehead, my eyes close as I take a deep breath. Everything would be fine. Chat and Ladybug were probably already there anyway.

Taking one more deep breath, I open the door and make my way to the photography room. Spotting Mr. Laurent across the room, I quicken my pace before being cut off by a cross looking Mr. Lacroix.

Swallowing nervously, I bite the inside of my cheek before reluctantly making eye contact with him. “Um, Mr. Lacroix…?” I call hesitantly, flinching and glancing down as his eyes narrow.

“Where were you earlier?” he questions. “You disappeared at a most inopportune moment.”

I tense as my gaze stays focused on his crossed arms. “I-I brought the flowers you needed for the shoot. So…uh…here.” I move the pink carnations away from my chest and hold them out to him.

He’s quiet as he takes them from me and places them on the table beside him. Finally, after a silent moment, he speaks. “I’m assuming that Mr. Laurent was the one who made you purchase them, correct?” His eyes narrow as I look at him and nod. “I told him to solve the delivery mix-up himself, not shove it upon someone else,” he sighs, pinching the bridge of his nose.

I tense as my eyes dart back to the ground. I didn’t mean to go behind his back or anything; I was just doing what I was told.

With an apology on the tip of my tongue, he quickly speaks over me. “Don’t apologize, Mr. Mercier. I know you were doing as instructed. I’m more upset at Mr. Laurent using his authority to make you run errands he should be handling on his own.”

My shoulders relax slightly as I exhale. At least he wasn’t angry at me.

He uncrosses his arms and smooths down his tie. “I think, given the circumstances, you’ve helped out quite enough already—and I see no reason to overwork someone who didn’t have anything to do with all this chaos. So you’re free to leave.”

I nod silently as I cautiously glance up at him. With how much he’s been reprimanding people I didn’t want to be the one to accidentally set him off for real. Seeing no real hostility, I quickly leave and make my way to the stairs before heading back up to the rooftop and transforming once again.

Making my way to the TV studio, I spot Ladybug swinging through the air and I rush across the buildings beside her as I shout at her with a grin. “Hey, Bug, you see the broadcast too?”

She glances at me quickly. “Yeah, I did. Hopefully we’re not too late,” she replies loudly before falling silent and focusing back on reaching the studio.

Doing the same, I take a small moment to look around, a frown tugging at the corners of my mouth. No Chat yet, huh? I purse my lips and hold in a disappointed sigh. Maybe he was already there…

Reaching the large building after what feels like forever, the two of us land in front of the entrance. Grinning down at Ladybug, I stretch out my back and shoulders as we enter the cooled lobby.

“You go the North side and I’ll take the South,” she explains, “That way we can block both exits and trap whoever’s doing this in.” She pauses as she looks up at me for conformation.

I nod quickly and give her a salute before spinning around and moving towards the elevators opposite of her. Pressing the up button I do my best to ignore the curious stares cast my way. Flashing the crowd a, hopefully, convincing friendly smile, I focus my gaze on the closed metal doors and exhale heavily. Adults were harder to deal with when I was all alone.

After what feels like years, a _ding_ makes me straighten up. Quickly stepping into the empty elevator, I raise my hand to the buttons before freezing.

_…I had no idea what floor the studio was on…_

Letting out a long, frustrated sigh, I sweep my eyes down the panel before pushing a random button. Looking away from whatever number I pressed, I face the closed metal doors once again and cross my arms. Hopefully luck would be on my side today and I’d be end up on the right floor.

Another handful of minutes pass before the familiar _ding_ of the elevator sounds again. Uncrossing my arms, I bounce on the balls of my feet as the doors slide open, _really_ hoping I was right.

Seeing Chat pressed up against the wall by the gorilla man, I blink before a grin spreads across my face. “Need a hand, kitty?” I question playfully, hand gripping the handles of my tonfas tightly in preparation as the large man shifts his attention to me.

Using the distraction, Chat shoves the man away with his feet and smirks at me as he lands on the ground. “Don’t worry, bunny, I’ve got this,” he says, before dodging the heavy swings aimed his way. Quickly grabbing the man by the wrist and flinging him past me into the still open elevator, he activates his Cataclysm and slams his hand against the call button, sending it careening down to the lobby.

“See? Told you I had it,” he says as he picks up his staff with a smirk.

Rolling my eyes with a grin, I point my finger at him with a wink. “Only cause I’m such a good distraction.”

The amused snort that leaves his mouth is somehow enough to make butterflies appear in my stomach. Allowing myself a quick moment to watch him, I’m unable to stop the warm smile that spreads across my face.

He was amazing and perfect and… _currently looking this way!?_

A blush spreads across my face at being caught and I quickly look away and cough into my hand. Ever since Alya called me out on liking someone, I’ve been trying my best to not ogle him _too_ much, because if _they_ could tell, the chance that he wouldn’t were slim to none.

“Chat Noir, Lapin Blanc, nice finally seeing you two,” a familiar voice calls out, causing me to sigh in relief.

Turning around, I slap on a grin and look at the two newcomers. “Ladybug, we were just coming to find you,” I say excitably before shifting my gaze to other person. “You alright, Nino?”

“Totally, dude.” He nods his head before frowning. “But that Simon Says dude—I saw him. He’s got a whole army together,” he quickly explains.

“He’s looking for Gabriel Agreste. We better get to him faster than they can,” Chat interjects, Miraculous suddenly bleeping.

“Chat, you’re about to change back,” says Ladybug worriedly. “Me and Lapin will take one last look around for Nino’s friend.” She motions behind her and looks at me.

Nodding, I go to follow after her before Chat says, “Forget it. He’s probably hypnotized.”

“But he’s my buddy,” Nino pleads.

“Uh, you’re right. Maybe he’s hiding,” Chat relents after a moment. “I’ll leave you to look for him.” Heading to the stairwell, he turns back to us before adding, “Let’s meet up at Gabriel Agreste’s place later on.”

As the door closes behind him, I blink dumbly at his speedy departure. “Bye…”

“Well, let’s start looking,” Ladybug says after a brief silence.

Trailing after her as she rushes through the hall we eventually end up on a catwalk, with Adrien meeting us in the middle.

“Adrien!” Nino shouts before rushing towards the blonde and pulling him into a fierce hug. “Dude, you ok?” he questions, pulling away.

He scratches the back of his head. “I’m fine,” he says, before his eyes fall on Ladybug. Stepping around Nino, he smiles shyly at her. “Hello.”

“Uh…h-h-hello…” she stutters out, giving him a small wave, and my eyes narrow slightly at the scene unfolding before me. “You sure you’re okay?” she continues, smiling up at him.

Watching as Adrien scratches the back of his neck and smiles, my heart almost skips a beat. Placing my hand on my chest, I look away with a frown. That look reminded me a little too much of Chat.

Quickly deciding to cut the overly friendly interaction short, I hesitate for a moment before throwing my arm over the blonde’s shoulder with a grin. He disliked the normal me, but I was Lapin right now so I could be as friendly as I wanted. “I’m sure he’s fine, Ladybug,” I cut in cheerfully, doing my best to hide the slowly building irritation. Not only was Ladybug a close friend, it felt wrong having anyone else but Chat looking at her like that.

Adrien looks at me from the corner of his eye but doesn’t shrug off my arm. “Yeah, I’m fine…” he suddenly gasps, “but we’ve got to get to my house now, my father’s in danger!”

Ladybug nods with a serious look. “Let’s go. Chat Noir will meet us there.”

Once again trailing after her, we make out way down to the lobby and exit the TV studio.

\---------------------------

Trailing behind the three as Adrien shoves open the mansion door, I look around the large entrance in awe. Just this one room was about the same size of the whole flower shop.

“Nathalie, where’s my father? He’s in danger.”

“He knows already, Adrien,” the woman at the foot of the remarks before Mr. Agreste himself speaks.

“Good evening, Ladybug…Lapin Blanc,” he greets, seemingly dismissing me the second our eyes meet.

Adrien quickly begins speaking at the sight of his father walking down the stairs. “Father, you’ve gotta get out of here. The hypnotist Simon Says is coming after you.”

Mr. Agreste scoffs. “What? And be dictated by a madman? Certainly not.”

Adrien’s eyes widen as he starts to plead with the older male. “But he’s dangerous. Who knows what he’ll do?”

“Head up to your room now, you’ve had enough excitement for today,” he demands coldly. “Nathalie, make sure they stay there.”

The dejected look that crosses the blonde’s face makes my chest heavy. Being able to dismiss your own child so easily…

Glancing at Mr. Agreste, I immediately tense as our eyes meet for a brief moment before quickly looking away. Something about him made me uneasy.

“I have to apologize for my son. He’s like his mother, way too overly dramatic,” he says with a roll of his eyes.

Ladybug frowns. “But he’s right, you know. Simon Says is a real threat. You’re in a lot of danger.”

“What could possibly happen with you here to protect me?” he counters, placing his hand on her shoulder.

Fighting back the urge to pull her away from him, I painfully bite the inside of my cheek to ground myself. Just because I didn’t know him didn’t mean he was automatically a bad person. He was probably like Mr. Lacroix; really serious and professional.

“Well, Mr. Agreste—” Ladybug’s voice brings me out of my thoughts—“Lapin Blanc and I will do our best.”

Seeing her gaze flicker to me, I nod with a polite smile.

Not even wasting any time to look at me, he beckons us to a different room with a wave of his hand. “This way.”

The fake smile slips off my face the second he turns away. He definitely was the type of person I had a hard time reading. Shaking my head, I trail after him and Ladybug. I couldn’t let myself get too in my head about some stranger’s state of mind.

As he motions to a giant frame filled with pictures of Adrien, I only half-listen to the conversation revolving around the blonde. Words like _perfect_ and _flawless_ were thrown around in a way that reminded me of someone talking about a piece of art.

But he wasn’t talking about art. He was talking about his own son.

Frowning to myself, I stare out the window with narrowed eyes. Something about his attitude just didn’t sit right with me.

“…I’ve never noticed your earrings before. They really are quite unique.” My ears perk up as I whirl around just in time to see him reaching for Ladybug. “May I…?”

A surge of panic washes over me and, before I could even think about it, I fly across the room and grab his wrist roughly.

They both look at me, stunned, as I choke on my own words before Ladybug’s yoyo bleeps suddenly.

Glancing at me for a moment, she smiles lightly before excusing herself and stepping away.

“Release me this instant,” Mr. Agreste demands, pulling his wrist free in a sharp motion.

My shoulders tense at the harsh glare he gives me, but I refuse to be intimidated. “I don’t know you’re intentions are, sir, but I would suggest keeping your hands to yourself.”

He scoffs at my words. “Rather overprotective, aren’t you?”

“Not overprotective—” I glance over at Ladybug for a moment before looking back at him with narrowed eyes—“just cautious.”

His taunting smile sneers down at me. “How amusing, the little rabbit is finally showing his teeth.”

I do my best to keep my posture relaxed, but irritation bubbles just below my skin. While I still didn’t know him, the opinion I was forming of him was far from a positive one. “I—”

“Close off all exits!” Chat yells as he suddenly swings through an open window. “They’re coming from every direction. Engage the self-defense system.” He shuts the window and looks over at us. “We need total lockdown!”

Glaring at the older man for a moment, I head towards Chat without a word.

Moving over to a panel in the middle of the room, Mr. Agreste presses a few buttons and places his hand on the screen as loud bleeping fills the air. Then, just like that, metal shutters slide down and blocks out the light.

I stare at the barricaded windows in disbelief. How rich was this family to afford such things?

“How do you know so much about the system?” questions Mr. Agreste.

Chat tenses. “Um, uh…in a house like this it’s…it’s a given,” he stumbles out, doing his best to smile believably.

I cross my arms and raise a brow at his suspicious behavior, but don’t comment on it.

Mr. Agreste taps some more on the panel as he says, “They won’t get in. This house is built like a fortress.”

Only humming lightly, I turn my attention to the camera feeds playing on the large TV. I had to admit, everything was pretty high-tech just for a house. Mr. Lacroix only had an alarm and one or two cameras at the studio if I remembered correctly.

Continuing to idly watch the live video of people pushing against the gate, it suddenly gives way and tips over. My eyes widen as alarms ring and the power briefly cuts out. After a moment, the lights flicker back on as a robotic female voice says something about emergency power being turned on.

“There are too many of them. Your defense system is failing,” Chat says quickly.

Even though the situation just got a hundred times worse, a swirl of amusement bubbles up briefly. The almost perfect timing of the gate giving way and Mr. Agreste’s haughtiness was almost laughable.

“Adrien and Nino…I’d better go get them.” Ladybug looks at me. “You too Lapin, in case we need to make a quick getaway.”

I nod eagerly. Anything to stay out of the same room as Mr. Agreste. “Sure thing,” I chirp happily, all but skipping to her side.

A picture shifts as two remotes appear. “Here, Nathalie, take the controls in case you need to unlock an exit,” Mr. Agreste says, before shifting his attention to Ladybug and I. “She’s coming with you.”

Seeing Ladybug nod, I open the door and allow the older woman to lead us to Adrien’s room.

Quickly reaching his room, Ladybug throws open the door and Nino gasps. “Ladybug, Lapin Blanc, what’s going down?”

She rushes over to him and says, “We need to get to safer ground.” She then looks around. “Where’s Adrien?”

“Taking a shower,” he replies, pointing behind her to the bathroom.

“Now?” Ladybug and I say at the same time.

“It’s the model in him,” he remarks dryly.

Knocking with her head pressed against the door, Ladybug turns back to us. “Lapin, take them to the atrium. I’ll take care of Adrien.”

“Not gonna happen,” I state plainly, crossing my arms.

Her eyes widen at my quick shutdown. “What?”

“Not gonna happen,” I reiterate with a shake of my head. “I’ll take care of Mr. Model in there and you can take them to the atrium.”

Her eyes narrow. “Lapin, we don’t—”

“What’ll be less awkward, Ladybug? Me accidently seeing him naked, or you?” I interrupt quickly. If Adrien was still in the shower, there was no way I was letting her see any of that.

She blushes bright enough that I could see it peeking it out of her mask. “I-I’m not…I wouldn’t…I mean!” she stumbles for another moment before groaning. “ _Fine,_ I’ll take them.” she motions to Nathalie. “Leave the remote with him in case he needs it.”

Looking between the two of us, she does as instructed and places the small device in my outstretched hand before following after the still flustered hero.

Letting out a quiet chuckle, I toss the remote on the table before knocking on the bathroom door. “Adrien?” No response. “Adrien Agreste?” Once again no response. “Fair warning, if you don’t answer this time, I’m going to open the door,” I say loudly, sighing as I once again am greeted by silence.

_Don’t say I didn’t warn you._

Easing open the door, I call his name once again, only to have his face pop up from around the corner.

“Yeah?”

Leaning against the frame of the door, I cross my arms. Now he answers. “You need to hurry up. People broke in and we need to get somewhere safer,” I reply. Not waiting for an answer, I shut the door to let him have his privacy.

Stretching my back and shoulders with a groan, I glance around lazily before sitting down in his computer chair. Leaning back, I swivel side to side as my thoughts trail back to the chaos that was no doubt unfolding back at the studio. But before I could get too caught up in daydreaming I notice a blonde lady on the computer screen.

Looking at her, it was pretty obvious who she was related to.

Spinning away from the desk, I lean back in the chair and cross my arms as I stare up at the ceiling. The last thing I’d like is to have him think I was snooping. Suddenly a loud sigh escapes my mouth, thoughts wondering to Adrien. I felt for him. His father seemed cold and dismissive when all he wanted to do was get him to listen.

Hearing the bathroom door open, I perk up and sit upright. “You ready?” I question.

“Yeah, let’s go,” he answers with a nod.

As I stand, the picture of the woman on his computer makes me pause. She looked at lot nicer than my mother. “Was she nice?” I ask suddenly, almost punching myself in the face at the random invasive question.

“My mom?” He moves beside me and I glance at him as he smiles. “Yeah, she was always kind and had the prettiest smile,” he says, a hint of sadness creeping in his eyes.

Looking away from him, I stare at the woman before looking away with a sigh. “Must’ve been nice…” I mumble quietly, a bitter feeling tugging at my chest.

Feeling the blonde’s eyes burning into me, I quickly hide my unhappiness with a grin. “It’s easy to tell you guys are related. Both of you are really beautiful,” I say quickly, hoping to shift attention away from me.

His eyes widen as a blush spreads across his cheeks. “U-Uh, thanks,” he coughs out, rubbing the back of his neck.

The grin on my face becomes more natural as I watch him. Embarrassed Adrien was something I’ve never seen. I almost wish I had my camera with me to capture the moment, to show Marinette later. “Aren’t you just the cutest? No wonder you’re such a great model,” I say with a chuckle, surprising myself at just how natural it felt to tease him.

Clearing his throat Adrien smirks at me, cheeks still tinted red. “Didn’t know Lapin Blanc was such a fan,” he says, hands on his hips.

Pausing, I think back to all the times I cooed over what a great model he was. I guess I sort of was? “Well, it’s not hard to be one, with how great you look on all those magazine covers,” I reply honestly, almost laughing at the shocked look that passes over his face.

Before I could tease him anymore, the door suddenly busts open as people rush in the bedroom. As they run at us, I quickly shove Adrien into the bathroom and slam the door behind him.

Turning to the crowd with a grin, I slip underneath a pair of reaching hands and leap to the railing before swinging around and jumping through the busted door. Dodging the few people on the staircase, I land in front of the trashed atrium.

Stepping inside, I look around wide-eyed at the mess. They really trashed the place, didn’t they? While nudging one of the pictures with my foot, I hear Chat land on the windowsill and turn towards him.

“Well that’s just great,” he remarks loudly, also looking around the destroyed room.

I smirk. “Yeah, a real… _cat-_ astrophe, isn’t it?”

He snickers at the pun before standing and saying, “I think they took Ladybug back to the studio with my—Mr. Agreste.”

Not bothering to question the stutter, I nod before moving to stand by him at the open window. “Well then, looks like you get to be a real knight-in-shining-armor,” I say with a large smirk, winking at him before leaping to the building across from us.

As the two of us race towards the large studio, I suddenly remember Adrien still in the bathroom and frown. Hopefully he’d stay put until everything was over.

Apparently noticing my wondering thoughts Chat falls into pace beside me. Giving me a questioning look, he asks what was wrong.

Climbing up a chimney and leaping to the next rooftop, I glance at Chat with a light smile as I shake my head. “Nothing important,” I reply before noticing the large TV studio growing closer. Looking back at Chat, I motion to the roof. “Let’s go save the princess then.”

Climbing to the top of the tower, I land in a crouch before hopping up. Throwing open the access door, I rush down the stairs with Chat at my heels. Only stopping when we reach the right floor, we quickly move down the hallway and come to a stop at the closed studio doors. Moving my gaze to the small TV beside it, I almost choke on the laugh that sputters out of my mouth.

Watching Mr. Agreste zoom across the room flapping his arms, I have to physically cover my mouth to stop the giggles that threaten to pour out. Chat gives me a _really_ look and I do my best to reign in my laughter. This was a serious situation.

“Sorry,” I breathe out after a moment, shaking my head and putting on a more serious face. “Now, if I had to guess, the Akuma is probably in those cards of his or something.” I shift my weight to one leg as I cross my arms and stare intently at the screen.

Chat sighs from beside me. “Yeah, but there’s so many. It could be any one of them.”

Nodding thoughtfully, I watch the TV for another moment. Guess we’d have to find out through trial and error. “Well then,” I start, moving away and motioning to the doors with a slight bow, “shall you do the honors?”

He smirks and nods before shuffling back and ramming into the doors and throwing them open.

Stepping in after him, I pull my tonfas out and narrow my eyes as Simon Says greets us.

“Lapin Blanc, Chat Noir,” he says, “You can save Mr. Agreste and Ladybug by giving me your Miraculouses.” He grabs a card with a smirk. “Do the right thing.”

“In your dreams,” Ladybug sounds suddenly, and I spot her tied up next to one of the cameras.

Twirling my tonfas as I readjust my grip, I look over at Chat and then Ladybug. “Think you can untie her while I give him the runaround?” I whisper, fixing my eyes on the Akumatized person in front of us. Seeing him nod out of the corner of my eye, I take a big breath before strolling forward as confidently as I can. All I had to do was say something that would irritate him _just_ enough to focus on getting me.

“Do you really think you’re fast enough to catch a rabbit?” I question, making my smirk a little more mocking than usual.

“We’ll see about that,” he says before pulling out a card. “Simon Says freeze!”

Dodging the thrown card as it whizzes by, I glance over at Chat as he creeps closer to Ladybug. Just a couple more minutes. Keeping the mocking smirk on my face as I focus back on the hypnotist, I duck as another card zips past me. “Have to try a little harder,” I taunt, preparing for more as I stand back up and activate my Miraculous.

Not one to disappoint, he throws more at me as I easily dodge out of the way as an almost giddy feeling fills my body as adrenaline pumps through my veins. Leading him attention away so that his back is turned to Ladybug, Chat quickly begins untying her as I keep avoiding more of his cards.

Just as the last card whizzes past me, Chat and Ladybug leap from behind him and land beside me. “Chat Noir says give us the cards,” Chat quips, spinning his staff with a smirk.

Simon Says frowns before chuckling and shuffling his deck of cards. “It doesn’t matter what anyone else says. All that’s important is what Simon Says.” He spreads the blank cards out. “And Simon Says remove your Miraculouses and give them to me!”

Still a little pumped up from the last bit of adrenaline, I quickly shove Ladybug and Chat away before throwing myself on the ground as multiple cards shoot past me. Scrambling back up as soon as they pass, the doors bang open as Mr. Agreste flies through them while making plane noises.

“He’s going up to the roof. We have to stop him!” Chat says, moving to follow after him before Ladybug grabs the long part of his belt.

She keeps a hold of it as she gives him a pleading look. “Lapin is going to have to change back any moment and this is our last chance to capture the Akuma. I can’t do it alone.” Standing, she releases his tail and explains, “If we free Simon Says, we free Mr. Agreste too.”

Loud, rapid bleeping comes from my bracelet as I look at the glowing rabbit face lose an ear. Frowning in frustration, I drop my wrist and give the both of them a regretful look. “I could probably stick it out for a couple more—”

“Go,” Ladybug orders before smiling reassuringly, “We’ll be fine.”

Biting the inside of my cheek, I glance between the two of them before nodding. Quickly running out of the studio, I rush down the hall before closing myself in the stairwell. Catching Blann as I change back, my eyes move upwards towards the roof.

“What are you waiting for?” Blann breathes out tiredly, giving me a light smile.

Staring at him as I chew the inside of my cheek, I finally nod before carefully slipping him into my camera case. Stopping Adrien’s father from hurting himself was the least I could do to help. Shoving off from the door, I quickly make my way up the stairs and silently hope I'm not too late.

Reaching the already open rooftop access door, I nearly scream at the sight of Mr. Agreste nearing the edge. With my hand stretched out, I scramble after him and am just quick enough to grab the back of his suit jacket. Yanking him back with all my strength, he crashes backwards before rolling to his stomach to get up.

Seeing this, I panic for a moment before sitting on his back. Using my weight to trap him, I ignore the weirdness of the situation to the best of my ability. Closing my eyes, I rest my elbows on my knees with a sigh, momentarily drowning out the mimicked plane noises still coming from the older man. “There’s no way I didn’t break his hip…” I groan out loudly.

“I’m not that old yet,” he suddenly says, nearly scaring me out of my skin. “Now get off me, you buffoon.”

Quickly doing what he says, I watch as he stands and dusts himself off before looking around. “I suppose I should thank you for stopping me from jumping off the edge,” he starts, looking at me with an unhappy glare, “but you’ll just have to settle with me not giving you a dry cleaning bill for my clothes.” He motions to his dusty, barely tattered suit jacket.

Biting my tongue, I swallow my irritation. While I didn’t expect thanks, I certainly didn’t expect such rudeness either. “Thanks…I guess…” I clear my throat and shuffle backwards towards the door. “So...bye?” I drawl out questionably, wincing at my attempt to say goodbye normally.

Without waiting for a response, I duck back into the stairwell and quickly start heading down the stairs. The familiar burn of humiliation stings my face, but I shake it away with a frown. I didn’t particularly like Mr. Agreste in the first place but, even if I did, the likelihood we’d ever meet again was almost nonexistent, so he wasn’t someone I should even be concerned about. Right now I was a little more concerned with somehow making sure my friends were okay.

Suddenly hearing footsteps echoing from down the stair, I freeze as my brain panics. Stiffening as Chat’s voice travels up, I glance down at the door just another flight down. Almost throwing myself the rest of the way down, I smack into the metal door before tearing it open and slamming it shut behind me, just in time for the footsteps of Ladybug and Chat to hurry by and continue towards the rooftop.

Breathing a sigh of relief as I sag against the door, I place my hand over my pounding chest. I didn’t have a realistic excuse for being at the studio, let alone for coming down from the roof. Moving away as my heart goes back to its normal rhythm, I head towards the elevators. Blann and I needed to get home so he could eat and recover.

A quiet yawn escapes my mouth as I press the elevator button. Finally being alone reminded me of how tiring being a hero could be. I stretch with my hands above my head and smile to myself as Chat's grinning face pops into my head.

_It was totally worth it though._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm still alive, I swear lol  
> Things have been a little hectic lately so I've had a hard time actually sitting down and being able to write, but hopefully by the beginning of next month things will be a lot calmer.  
> But enough excuses! That's my chapter all nice and pretty for you guys, so I hope you enjoyed it.


	23. Short - Checking in

Falling onto my bed with a sigh, the tension drains out of my body as I breathe in the crisp smell of the sheets. After arriving home and getting Blann something to eat, I finally allowed myself to fully unwind. Lazily slipping my shoes off, I stare out the window at the Agreste mansion.

Adrien drifted through my mind a couple times during the walk home, and even now I was a little concerned about him. His house felt nothing like Aunt Claire’s. Hers was lived in and warm, while his felt almost cold. It reminded me a bit of when I was living with my mother. My mood sours almost instantly and I frown. I wouldn’t wish my childhood on my worst enemy.

“Something wrong?” Blann questions as he lies on the side of my head.

Biting the inside of my cheek, I move my gaze away from the large house. “It’s nothing,” I breathe out, closing my eyes with a quiet sigh. As much as I wanted to get along with Adrien, the awkwardness I felt around him was a major hurdle.

The small rabbit hums lightly. “You can go check on him if you want.”

I tense as my face warms. Was I that obvious? “He doesn’t like me,” I mumble, burying my face in the pillow. Usually I didn’t have a problem with running by someone’s house if I was worried about them, but with Adrien…no, he was probably fine anyway.

“Come on,” Blann whines, tugging lightly on my hair. “You’re Lapin Blanc; you’re not supposed to be afraid of anything!”

I huff but don’t say anything.

“You face people that could crush you anytime!”

I bite the inside of my cheek.

“So what’s the fuss about checking on someone you’re worried about?”

I shift my head as I peek out over the pillow with a glare. “ _I’m not going, Blann_.”

…

…

…

…

…

…

Groaning to myself, I balance on the top of the fence and overlook the large mansion. Blann was never going to let this go.

Scratching the side of my head, I let out a long sigh before hopping up and grabbing onto the closest window ledge and peering into the large bedroom. Spotting Adrien sitting on the couch with an unhappy expression, I frown before knocking on the glass gently.

Looking up, his gloomy expression turns to shock when he sees me and I wave with a grin.

When he moves to the window and opens it, the first words out of his mouth are, “What are you doing?”

“Just wanted to make sure you were okay,” I say, slipping into the room. “Today must’ve been unpleasant; you’re father being captured and all that.” My grin slips off my face as I look at him more seriously. “So, are you alright?”

He ignores my concern. “Me? Yeah, I’m fine.”

Watching him for a moment, I nod before turning away. Even if he felt otherwise, he wasn’t obligated to share his feelings with me. Instead, I glance around the room.

_And I thought my bedroom was big._

Turning back to the blonde I smile lightly. “I know I’m probably overstepping boundaries, but I was worried about how I left you hanging earlier when those people broke in.” My eyes suddenly land on the basketball hoop on the rock wall. “You play?” I question randomly.

He blinks before nodding. “A little.” He pauses, seeming to mull over his words “Probably better than you,” he says surprisingly, earning a quick laugh from me.

Picking up the basketball near my feet, I toss to him with a smirk. While playing basketball with Adrien Agreste wasn’t something I ever thought I’d do, he was acting surprisingly cocky compared to his usual self. Besides, if it would take his mind off some of the troubles he was going through…well, it’s the least I could do, right?

“Each point worth a question?” I ask, earning me an unexpectedly cocky laugh and smirk.

Spinning the ball on his finger, Adrien says, “You sure about that? I’ll probably know all your secrets by the end.”

I raise a brow and cross my arms. “Overconfident, are we? Just know that I typically only go easy on my favorite little kitty cat, so don’t expect an easy game.”

“So you do go easy on m-him!” he says, pointing an accusing finger at me.

Tutting, I shake my head. “Didn’t score a point, Mr. Model.”

Without a word he quickly tosses the ball in the basket and gives me an expectant look.

Debating for a quick moment on objecting the legitimacy of his first point, I let him keep it and answer simply, “Only sometimes.”

Not satisfied by the short answer, he goes to say something but I stop him by grabbing the bouncing basketball and scoring my own point.

“What do you do for fun?” I ask, sticking to a simple question.

Seemingly expecting a more difficult question, it takes him a moment to respond. “Video games, I guess.”

Nodding, I toss the ball to him and stretch out my shoulders and back. I truly wasn’t going to go as easy on him as I do Chat.

Bouncing the ball for a second, he suddenly steps to the side and attempts to score another point.

Quickly blocking the ball before it could fly over me; I turn on my heel and throw it into the hoop, scoring another point for me.

I turn to him with a grin. “Favorite animal?”

“Hamsters,” he answers, grabbing the ball as it rolls to him. Quickly moving, he sidesteps me and scores before grinning. “Yours?”

Now my turn to be shocked at the simple question, I pause to think. “Definitely rabbits,” I say, smiling as I wink.

He rolls his eyes with an amused huff before tossing me the ball, signaling it was my turn.

Bouncing it, he quickly tries to swipe the ball out of my hands but I dodge and send it above his head.

“Ready for another one…?”

\-----------------

A dozen of other lighthearted questions are asked and answered until the game finally ends with him scoring the final point.

Wiping my bangs off my forehead, I chuckle at Adrien as he pants with his hands on his knees. “I’ll be honest, Mr. Model, you did a lot better than I thought you would,” I compliment, spinning the ball with a grin.

He wipes the sweat from his brow with a roll of his eyes. “Thanks.”

Chuckling as I look out the window, my eyes widen at just how dark it was. “Looks like it’s time for me to go. I’ve still got things to do before it gets _too_ late,” I sigh out, handing the basketball to Adrien with a lopsided smile.

“Hey, you still owe me an answer,” he says accusingly, following me as I head towards the windows.

Easing it open, I grin at the sweaty looking boy. “Maybe next time,” I tease, climbing out the window before turning back to him with a grin. “It’s been fun, Mr. Model.”

Hoping to the top of the fence, I make sure to head the opposite way of home. Moving far enough away that I’m comfortable he won’t see me, I slow to a stop, unable to contain the large grin that accompanies the butterflies in my stomach.

I, Evan Mercier—Lapin Blanc? Whatever, doesn’t matter—just had a fun time with Adrien Agreste. No nervousness. No negative thoughts. Just two guys hanging out. If felt as natural as being with Chat Noir. Not even imaging Blann’s dramatic cooing about this could bring me down.

_Maybe we could end up getting along…_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally some bonding with Lapin and Adrien! I'd like to think Adrien shows some of his cocky attitude when he's around Lapin, just like how Evan gets more talkative with Chat. 
> 
> Ultimately just two dude bros hangin' out, ya know?


	24. Pixelator

“Is the work experience day today, Evan?”

Jolting out of my semi-awake state, the blurry surface of the dining table comes into view. Rubbing my eye with the palm of my hand, I nod as I bite back a yawn. “Yeah. We’re supposed to meet at the Mayor’s hotel this morning,” I sigh out, doing my best to keep my eyes from slipping closed again.

Aunt Claire seems to notice my struggle. “Are you okay? You look absolutely exhausted…”

Shoving away from the table, I sit up straight and smile tiredly. “I’m fine. I just ran out of my medicine the other night, so I had a hard time staying asleep.” In fact, it was more accurate to say I didn’t really sleep at all. Too many nightmares.

“You should’ve said something yesterday,” she admonishes, frowning with furrowed brows. “I would’ve called the doctor for more.”

I shrug as I take a bite of my toast. The medicine refilled today, so it wasn’t a big enough deal that she had to bother Dr. Beaumont. Glancing at the clock, I almost groan. I had to finish getting ready if I wanted to get to the hotel on time. “I have to get ready,” I sigh out, finishing the last bite of food as I stand. Ruffling Maddie’s hair as I pass her, I trudge up the stairs with a yawn.

_Today was definitely going to be long._

\----------------------------

Rushing down the sidewalk, I mentally berate myself for taking so long getting ready. My lack of sleep really caught up to me while I was getting dressed and I ended up spending most of the time just motivating myself to move.

Almost slipping as I hastily round the corner, I barely avoid crashing into someone. With a burning face, I mumble a quick apology before, more carefully this time, heading towards the hotel. As soon as the large building comes into view, the tension in my shoulders lessens and I slow my pace. Seeing some familiar faces of my classmates hanging out outside the entrance, I do my best to slow my ragged breathing as I smooth down my shirt and retighten the flannel tied around my waist.

Reaching the small group, I nervously bite the inside of my cheek and do the deep breathing exercises Dr. Beaumont taught me.

_In._

_Out._

_In._

_Out._

“Good morning,” I say quickly, hiding my nerves with a light smile.

Choruses of hellos come from the small group as Rose claps excitably. “I’m so glad you could come, Evan! Nathanael got sick so he couldn’t make it.” Her lower lip trembles as she whimpers. “So sad.”

I nod, picturing the redhead stuck in bed. “Well, tell him I missed my seatmate then,” I say with a light smile before spotting Alya inside. Seeing her and Marinette wave at me, I look back at the others and give them an apologetic look. “Looks like Alya and Marinette are waiting for me. I’ll see you guys later.”

Tilting my head before leaving, I enter the hotel and make my way towards them.

“Hey, guys,” I greet, my smile much more natural than before.

“Well hello there, Mr. Popular,” Alya teases, grin lighting up her features. “Planning on ditching us for Rose and Juleka?”

I frown and quickly shake my head. I knew she was joking, but I didn’t want either of them to even ponder the thought. “Sorry, but you guys are stuck with me,” I say, corner of my mouth tugging into a teasing grin.

She taps her knuckle against my chest with a laugh. “Wouldn’t have it any other way, right Marinette?”

Marinette smiles widely with a nod. “I’m not letting either of you go so easily,” she says excitably, wrapping her arm around Alya’s.

The three of us smile at each other before Nino speaks up. “Dudes, please, I can almost see the sparkles,” he remarks, grinning good-naturedly.

Chuckling lightly in embarrassment, I scratch the side of my head as I face him. “Good morning, Nino, Adrien,” I greet, eyes focusing on the blonde briefly.

Since spending some time with him as Lapin not too long ago, a part of me was hoping things would change between us. While I wasn’t exactly holding my breath, he didn’t seem hostile to me whenever we ran into each other, so hopefully one day we could be at least be on friendly terms.

“Yeah, yeah. Mornin’, dude,” Nino greets, rolling his eyes with a smile.

Miss Bustier suddenly calls out for everyone to gather up. As we do, she flips through the papers on her clipboard before giving us a brief explanation of why we were here before reading off names and what they were going to do. The group shrinks as people wander away to their stations until the only ones left are Alya, Marinette, and me.

“Just a moment,” she excuses herself, turning to Chloe’s father. “Do you have Alya, Evan, or Marinette on your list, Mr. Bourgeois?”

“Doesn’t look like it,” he replies, glancing through the paper once more.

Alya leans towards me and Marinette. “I bet I know who helped daddy make the assignment list,” she whispers, the three of us shifting to look at Chloe clinging to Adrien.

“Of course she gets to spend the entire day with Adrien,” Marinette fumes, throwing her hands in the air. “Ugh, this is gonna the worst day _ever_.”

I smile sympathetically, lightly patting her back as Alya rests her hand on her shoulder.

Chloe suddenly yells for her father and hands him a piece of paper with a stuck-up smirk as he reads whatever’s written down. “Ah, yes. Alya, you’re going to be…sorting trash at the main dumpster.”

I make a disgusted face. Gross.  

“And Evan and Marinette will be…”

Dread settles in my stomach, already imaging all the disgusting things I could be stuck doing.

But before he could finish speaking, a loud gasp escapes his mouth as a loudly dressed man walks in… _with a crocodile on a leash?_

Blinking at the bizarre scene, I turn to Marinette, whispering “Who’s that?”

She looks at me in shock. “You don’t know who that is?” she whispers back, “That’s…”

Mr. Bourgeois’ voice cuts her off as he angrily confronts the man. “Excuse me,” he starts indignantly, “but this is a luxury hotel, not a zoo.”

With a quick yell, Chloe calls him away and Marinette and Alya lean closer towards me.

“He’s Jagged Stone,” Marinette says quietly.

“Only the most famous musician, like, _ever_ ,” Alya quips before narrowing her eyes, “you really never heard of him?”

I scratch the side of my head as my face warms. “I’ve heard of him a little, but…” I trail off, shrugging helplessly. I tended not to pay attention to whatever was playing on the radio in the first place.

“We have so much to teach you, Evan,” Alya sighs with a shake of her head.

Marinette nods. “Yeah, I have some CDs I can give you tomorrow.”

Hearing the conviction laced in their words, I just nod along. I really doubt I could talk them out of the impromptu music lesson anyway. As they continue to whisper between themselves, I glance over at the mayor chatting it up to the rock star. Whatever Chloe told him had him changing his tune rather quickly.

Feeling a tap on my shoulder, I look down at Marinette as she points to the crocodile approaching a photographer hiding behind a counter.

Watching as he stumbles away from the animal, he quickly composes himself and turns to Jagged Stone.

“Remember me, Mr. Stone? Vincent Asa. Just one photo to show everyone in the world that we’re best buds,” he crosses his fingers for emphases, “come on, please? I’m your biggest fan,” he begs hopefully.

“I know. You’ve been to my last 36 shows. But we’re not friends,” Jagged Stone growls in frustration.

Completely ignoring his words, the blonde throws his arm over his shoulder. As he snaps the photo, the purple haired woman grabs the camera out of his hands with a glare.

“Didn’t you hear Mr. Stone?” she questions firmly, getting in his face with a sneer. “You still haven’t got it, have you? _No photos!_ ”

Watching in amazement as she leads him outside by the arm, something bumps into my legs and I tense when I see what it was.

Staring down at the panting crocodile, I swallow heavily and take a small step back. What was it doing?

It lets out a whine and moves closer again and starts rubbing against me.

Looking over at the girls for help, my expression blanks at the sight of them peering out from behind a pillar across the lobby.

_Nice._

“Taken a liking to this one, Fang?”

I jump and turn to Jagged Stone, who stares at me critically with a hand on his chin. Trying my best to not shrink away from his intense look, I avert my gaze nervously. What did he want?

After what feels like an eternity, he turns away, crocodile following obediently. “Come on,” he waves at me from behind lazily, “Fang likes his bathwater warm.”

Staring after him, I blink dumbly.

He turns back and narrows his eyes at me. “Well, what are you waiting for?”

My eyebrows knit together as I glance over towards Mrs. Bustier and Mr. Bourgeois. Seeing Mr. Bourgeois frantically motion for me to follow the star, I move my gaze back the crammed elevator and sigh. Trudging forward, I press my back flush against the elevator wall and nervously count the seconds as we move to the floor he was staying on.

When the elevator doors finally open, I breathe a sigh of relief as it quickly empties. Quietly following after everyone, my hand tugs nervously at my glove. I wasn’t really any good at dealing with assertive people normally, let alone someone as famous as Jagged Stone. I mean, the last thing I’d want to do is end up upsetting someone my friends held in such high regard.

Walking behind them as they enter their room, I barely have enough time to look around before a scaly body knocks me off my feet. A lump of fear forms in my throat as I stare down the large crocodile. “Uh…good boy…?” I mumble questionably, shakily reaching forward and patting the top of his head.

Almost immediately, he starts panting excitably and wagging his tail, making me let out a relieved, shaky laugh.

“Fang, what did I say about jumping on people?” Jagged Stone questions sternly as he crosses his arms.

With a whine, the crocodile wiggles off my body and gazes at him with a pitiful look.

“Oh, don’t look at me like that. You’re still my cute little crocodile,” he coos, bending down to shower Fang with affection.

Standing, I dust myself off and tug my gloves on more properly. While the animal was cute (in a somewhat weird way) it was less nerve-wracking having his attention turned elsewhere.

“Are you okay?” the purple haired woman asks, approaching me.

I nod quickly, kneading my fingers into my shoulder. “I’m fine, ma’am. Just surprised me is all.”

“That’s good.” She nods before smoothly offering her hand. “My name is Penny Rolling by the way, Mr. Stone’s agent.”

Stiffly shaking her hand, I quickly introduce myself. “I’m Evan Mercier, ma—I mean, Ms. Rolling. It’s a pleasure to meet you.”

She taps her chin thoughtfully. “You’re from Germany, right?” she questions, smiling to herself when I say yes. “I thought so. You have the tinniest bit of an accent.”

My face warms as I look away from her in embarrassment. I thought my pronunciation of French was well enough that no one could really hear an accent.

“Enough idle chit-chat,” Jagged Stone says suddenly, shoving a large hoop in my hands. “I’m trying to teach Fang a new trick so I need you to stand over there and hold the hoop up for him.”

Moving to where he pointed, I get into position and watch as he tries to coax the crocodile to jump through the ring.

Only paying half-attention, my eyes wonder to the door as Marinette, our teacher, and Mr. Bourgeois enters. Waving at my friend, she returns the gesture before Ms. Rolling starts speaking. After a moment the mayor leaves with Mrs. Bustier, Marinette following after giving me a nervous smile.

Watching her leave, I turn my attention back on holding the hoop steady and watch as Jagged Stone continues to attempt to train Fang once again.

A handful on minutes passes before Ms. Rolling answers a knock at the door and calls for Jagged Stone.

“Oh, what is it?” he groans, standing from his crouched position with a huff.

“Your sunglasses are here.”

His posture relaxes. “You should have just said so,” he says before turning to me. “Go start the bath for Fang—remember he likes his water warm.”

Nodding obediently I look down at the dopey eyed crocodile, nervously swallowing before patting his head lightly. “Ready for a bath, Fang?” I ask, some of my worries lessening at the sight of his tail wagging.

Entering the bathroom with him at my heels, I take a calming breathe. Right, just think of him as a large… _scaly_ …dog. Shutting the door behind me, I stare at the large tub for a moment before leaning on the rim and turning on the water.

“Shouldn’t you take off your gloves so they don’t get wet?” Blann squeaks, flying out of the camera case.

“You’re right.” I pull away from the faucet and pull off the glove covering my non-scarred hand. “I’d hate myself if I ruined these…” I trail off, sighing contently at the feeling of the warm water on my skin. Fiddling with the temperature for another moment, I lean back, satisfied, and watch as the tub begins to fill.

As the water slowly rises, the bathroom door swings open and Blann quickly hides as Jagged Stone walks in.  “Help me lift Fang into the tub,” he says, grabbing the front torso of the crocodile.

Doing as told, I quickly lift the tail and help move him into the water. Barely avoiding soaking the glove I was still wearing, my eyes move back to Jagged Stone as he dips a broom into the water.

Looking over at me, he motions to another one by the door. “Come one, now, we don’t have all day,” he says, before cooing affectionately as he turns back to Fang.

Grabbing the broom, I sigh lightly before leaning over the tub and scratching the crocodile’s stomach with the bristles.

At least it wasn’t trash duty.

Hours seem to pass before Jagged Stone _finally_ throws the broom down and instructs me to help him get Fang out of the tub. Ignoring the soreness growing in my shoulders and arms, I do as told and stumble backwards as the crocodile rushes passed. Seeing him rolling around happily on the bed, a small huff of amusement leaves my mouth.

Spotting me, his tongue lolls out of his mouth as he pants happily and I steel my nerves, slowly kneeling down to carefully stoke the top of his head. After a long moment of nothing except excited tail wagging, my shoulders relax as I start petting him more earnestly.

Seeing Jagged Stone leave the bathroom with a cloth, he kneels next to Fang and starts drying him off. A surprisingly comfortable silence falls between us as we both focus on the large reptile taking up most of the bed.

“Hey there. Ready for your photoshoot?”

I glance over at the unfamiliar voice before gasping.

Staring up at the Akumatized man, my eyes narrow as he advances towards the bed.

“How did you get in here?” Jagged Stone questions, while hiding behind Fang, “I don’t know about any photoshoot. Fang, attack!” he shouts quickly, only causing the crocodile to roll on his back.

The man touches the side of his glasses as he says, “See you later, alligator.”

Stumbling backwards as Fang disappears in a burst of light, I freeze as his gaze turns to me. I wanted to yell at Jagged Stone to run, but my voice catches in my throat as he presses the side of the lens covering his eye.

A beat of silence passes and I cautiously open one eye before I stiffen in shock. Instead of the hotel room, blinding white seemed to instead surround me for what looked like forever. Standing on wobbly legs, I bite the inside of my mouth painfully as I tug on my gloves. I didn’t like how suffocating being here felt.

“Where are we?” questions Blann, peeking out from the camera case.

I try my best to ignore the quickly building unease forming in my stomach and swallow heavily. “I…I’m not sure,” I force out, wincing at the way my voice cracks.

Looking up at me with worried eyes, the small Kwami opens his mouth to say something before a loud screech cuts him off.

Even though screams usually meant something bad, the tightness in my chest lessens at the knowledge that there was someone else here. “Let’s go,” I breathe out, taking off towards the source of the noise. Quickly spotting two people—one of them Adrien—some of my good mood is ruined when I recognize the other one as Chloe.

I frown and mentally scold myself. No, that wasn’t fair right now. She was as much of a victim as me.

Taking several calming breaths, I force my shoulders to relax and call out to them. “Are you guys okay?”

Adrien almost drops Chloe as he jumps in surprise, but doesn’t turn around. “Be careful,” he warns loudly, taking a small step back towards me.

I furrow my brows and look over his shoulder at whatever had them so freaked out, pausing as I quickly recognize the animal. “Fang?” I ask incredulously, eyeing the dopey looking crocodile as I move closer. Letting out an amused huff as he rolls on his back, I kneel down and rub his scaly stomach. “It’s okay, he’s friendly,” I say, glancing back at the two blondes.

“I knew that,” Chloe huffs from behind me, making me grimace.

“You ended up trapped too, Evan?” questions Adrien, pulling my attention from her.

I nod, rolling my shoulder as I stand. “A camera guy busted in Jagged Stone’s room…” I pause with a frown, “I think he’s that photographer from earlier—the one with the purple highlights.”

Adrien looks thoughtful for a moment before agreeing. “It makes since, he wanted to take Jagged Stone’s picture pretty badly.”

“Ugh, who cares who it is, I just want to get out of wherever _here_ is,” Chloe groans, crossing her arms with a pout.

While her tone made me bristle, I could at least agree with wanting to find a way out. All the white was suffocating, not to mention headache inducing. Sighing to myself, I close my eyes and run a hand across the shaved part of my undercut. I really doubted there was anything we could do at this point except wait.

A scaly body bumps into my leg and I look down at Fang as he wags his tail happily. Kneeling down to pet him once again, I yawn tiredly and stare at the crocodile. Maybe I could take a picture of him when ~~if~~ when we got out.

“You seem good with animals.” Adrien kneels next to me, watching Fang curiously.

I shrug with a light smile. The closest I ever got to a pet was an old stray that would sneak into my room. “You can pet him if you want,” I say, pausing to glance at the blonde.

He hesitates for a moment before carefully placing his hand on his scaly back. Seeing the only reaction from Fang is more tail wagging, he beings petting him more earnestly. “Never thought I’d pet a crocodile before,” Adrien says, laughing lightly.

I smile, nodding in agreement. “It can be pretty intimidating the first couple times.”

“I’m jealous you get to work with Jagged Stone though. It must be cool.”

Shrugging lightly, my hand pauses as I think back to earlier today. “It’s a little weird working for someone so famous, but—” my eyes briefly shift to a huffy Chloe tapping her foot—“it could be a lot worse.” _Like being stuck with Chloe_ I almost say, but quickly bite my tongue to stop the words. I may not like Chloe, but Adrien, for some reason, did, so I wasn’t going to talk bad about her to one of her few friends.

“What did you want to do?” he asks.

I stop to think for a moment before answering. “Well, as stupid as it sounds I was hoping for kitchen duty,” I say, daring to look over and gauge his reaction.

He perks up and smiles at me. “Me too! I never get to cook my own food, so I was hoping to try.”

“Really?” I stare at him disbelievingly. Even though Aunt Claire cooked, Madeleine and I still sometimes helped out.

He laughs lightly, rubbing the back of his neck. “I know, but I’ve always had a personal chef and my father always said it’s not something I needed to learn.”

I continue staring at him in disbelief. He sounded spoiled—not rotten like Chloe—but definitely spoiled and coddled. Though I guess with a father like his, it was more of a detriment than a benefit. Realizing that I stopped petting Fang and was frowning rather heavily, I relax my features and start moving my hand again.

“It’s fine, not being good at something,” I mumble, before clearing my throat nervously and speaking more clearly. “I mean, everyone has different strengths and weaknesses, you know?” At least that’s what my social worker told me. “Like, you’re really smart and good at dealing with people and stuff.” I try my best to reassure him, wincing at how bad of a job I was doing.

He pauses before smiling, apparently not totally put off by my lame words. “Yeah, you’re right.”

Warmth threatens to spread across my face and I smile lightly at him. I was almost expecting him to call me stupid or something.

Chloe suddenly screams and grabs his arm, pulling him up and causing me to follow her shocked gaze, looking up at a large Ladybug peering down at us.

“What are you guys doing in there?” she questions.

Having gathered her bearings, Chloe starts fangirling and waves up at her excitably. “Ladybug, remember me? You’re biggest fan? Please get us out of here. It’s terrible in here. I mean….” she quickly turns to Adrien and nuzzles his arm, “only terrible when you’re not around.”

Rolling my eyes, I stop petting Fang and stand. Good thing I wasn’t Adrien, otherwise I’d spend half the day annoyed at how clingy she was.

As Ladybug turns away and disappears, Chloe flips a strand of her hair. “We’re, like, totally besties.”

I barely hold in a snort at her overconfidence. She and I must’ve seen a different Ladybug when they first met. But whatever, let her assume things all she wanted. More importantly was that I didn’t hear or see Chat with her.

I just hope he was safe right now.

“Just wait, she’ll find a way to get us out of here,” Adrien says, breaking me out of my thoughts.

I nod in agreement. Ladybug was a problem solver after all.

Chloe huffs and crosses her arms. “Well I wish she would hurry up. I can’t spend all day stuck in here.” Her gaze focuses on me as she sneers, “Especially with a freak like you.”

I immediately tense, hands balling into fists.  I haven’t said _one_ rude thing to her all day but she felt the need to direct her nasty words to me? Doing my best to keep the frustration off my face, I pointedly turn away from her and refuse to voice any of my thoughts.

“Chloe,” Adrien warns.

She huffs. “What? I was just telling the truth.”

He ignores her and looks over at me. “She didn’t mean it like that, Evan,” he says, lying through his teeth.

I snort and look at him from the corner of my eye. Did I look like an idiot? “It’s fine. She’s a _rotzgöre_ anyway,” I state, taking small satisfaction at the way she bristles at my comment.

“What did you call me?”

She looked ready to blow a fuse before Adrien tries to play peacekeeper, blocking our view of each other. Looking at the both of us, he smiles uneasily. “Is now really the best time for this?” he asks lightly.

Turning away from them, I force myself to take several deep breaths in an attempt to lessen the frustration boiling under my skin. He was right, getting into an argument now wouldn’t solve anything. And, while it was admittedly a little satisfying seeing Chloe overreact to me calling her a brat in German, the whining afterwards was almost never worth it. I rub my eyes with the palms of my hands. I needed to get out of here.

Suddenly, like a flash, the white walls slip away as the familiar interior of Jagged Stone’s hotel room greets me. Taking a moment to let my mind catch up, I let out a relieved sigh before noticing Sabrina just in time for her to faint at the sight of Fang reappearing.

Looking at her for a moment, I go to leave before my conscious stops me. It wouldn’t be right to just leave her strewn across the floor. With a groan, I pick her up and lay her on the bed. “Watch over her for me, won’t you Fang?” I pat the top of his head with a smile before heading to the balcony.

As I throw open the glass doors Blann flies out of hiding. “We gonna go find Ladybug and Chat Noir?”

“Yeah, if we’re lucky they’ll be finishing up the fight by the time we get there.” I bring my bracelet eye level. “Blann, ears up.”

Transforming, I climb to the top of the hotel and turn on my GPS, quickly seeing two familiar signals near the Arc de Triomphe. Shaking off any the negative feelings from earlier, I take a deep breath before hopping onto the railing and stepping off. As soon as my feet touch the ground I speedily head down the road, avoiding many dazed looking people on the way.

Swiftly reaching the street, I narrowly avoid being seen by the Pixelator before ducking back around the corner. Cautiously peeking around, I watch as Chat creeps up behind the villain, excitably hoping he would be successful in grabbing the Akumatized camera.

My hope is cut short when a random bystander shouts Chat’s name, causing Pixelator to turn around and grab his hands. Sighing as I narrow my eyes at the man, I move out of hiding and go to help, only to be stopped by the same man.

“Oh man, Lapin Blanc!” He shouts, oblivious to the fight before him. “Do you think I could get an autograph?”

I stare at him in disbelief, unsure of what to say. Turning my attention away from him, I look over at Chat just in time to see him being swung around by his ankles. “Uh, maybe later,” I breathe out quickly, shoving past him and rushing forward as Chat goes flying in the air.

Almost using my Speed Boost out of instinct, I keep moving as my eyes stay trained on his airborne form. Just…a…little… _there!_ Reaching out, a rough puff of air leaves my lungs as he crashes into my arms but I smile largely as I catch him just as planned.

Ladybug smiles and puts her hand on her hip. “Thanks for dropping in.”

Chat blinks before smirking at me, showing no real urge to be set down. “Thanks for the soft landing, bunny,” he says, elbowing my chest.

Tensing up, I curse at the way my heart flutters and stiffly set him down. It took a surprising amount of willpower but I was able to resist the urge to keep him in my arms or lean down and bury my nose in his bright, messy hair. Instead, I bury the borderline greedy desire deep within me, refusing to acknowledge it any further. I wouldn’t act on my feelings, _ever_.

No matter how much a part of me wanted to.

“What about our deal?” Pixelator shouts angrily, pulling me out of my mental struggles. Trying to capture us with his camera, the three of us dodge out of the way until Ladybug yells.

“Together!”

Doing as she says I dart away, pulling out my tonfas and preparing to attack from the side. Rushing at him as he dodges Ladybug’s yoyo, my steps falter as Chat disappears in an explosion of pixels. I almost want to sigh heavily at the sight but instead continue towards him, fully intending to knock the wind out of him. I usually didn’t like getting too rough with people that were Akumatized, but the lack of sleep was definitely hitting me now, and I’d only be in the way if I ended up letting my fatigue catch up to me.

Barreling into his side, I land on top of him and glare down at him. “Give me the camera,” I order, reaching down to pull the one-eyed mask off his head. No sooner do my fingers brush it before the world is encased in a familiar looking white.

Glancing around the barren area, I groan and sag into the ground. Somehow the Pixelator pulled a fast one on me and now I was stuck here once again. Great.

“He got you too, huh?” Chat’s voice makes me turn my head.

Staring up at him from my spot on the floor, I nod while suppressing a grumble. I was _this_ close to getting the Akumatized item. Pushing myself up, I sit cross legged and prop my chin in my hand. “I really hate this place…” I sigh out, closing my eyes to block out the bright white.

“Tell me about it,” Chat agrees, sitting close enough for our arms to brush.

Already feeling my face warming as my heart skips-a-beat, I quickly admonish myself. It was just a light touch. Biting the inside of my cheek, I look at Chat out of the corner of my eye. I was going to have to get over avoiding touching him, because it was ridiculous to try and avoid any contact forever. I mean, I wasn’t weak enough that I’d do something stupid—like blurt out my feelings—just from a friendly gesture, right?

Suddenly Chat turns to me and my solid reasoning crumbles. Smiling as naturally as I can, I turn away and place a hand over my fluttering heart. Just a look already had me melting.

“This is totally unfair,” sighs out Chat as he leans against my shoulder, unaware of how much he was affecting me.

Inhaling sharply, I freeze up as blood pumps in my ears. Glancing over at him, another strong urge to pull him close sweeps through me but I sharply block the thought. No, I shake my head firmly; this was just a friendly gesture and nothing more. Chat not only was a _friend,_ but liked Ladybug too.

The thought instantly cooled the burning in my face and sobered me up. Reminding myself of the truth may sting but it kept me from making a fool out of myself. “Could you use your Cataclysm…or something?” I force out, cringing at the way my voice wavers. No matter how composed I could trick myself into being, I was still painfully aware of his warm body pressed against my arm.

He ponders my words for a moment before sitting upright. “It couldn’t hurt to try, right?” he grins at me before standing up and offering his hand.

Doing my best to hide my embarrassment, I hesitate for a moment before putting my hand in his. This would be a good starting point, right? Letting him pull me up, butterflies erupt in my stomach at the simple contact.

Smiling lightly, I quickly drop his hand and busy myself with stretching. I didn’t want to make things awkward with my absentminded staring. Following the pixelated cracks that quickly appear across the ground when he activated his Miraculous, we’re suddenly taken back to the real world.

Landing next to a hobbling Ladybug, she looks between me and Chat, tossing me a compact mirror and yelling at me to throw it at Chat.

Doing as she says without questioning it, the mirror bounces off of Chat’s staff and passes by Pixelator just as he goes to take Jagged Stones picture. Then in a burst of pixels, the only thing left of him is the Akumatized face-camera that clatters on the ground.

As Ladybug throws her yoyo into the air and sends thousands of ladybugs to fix everything, I lean against a nearby car with a tired sigh. I still had an hour or so of school left before I could go home. Crouching down on my heels, I ruffle my hair with a groan. I _really_ wanted to just ditch and sneak back to Aunt Claire’s.

Before I could waste time uselessly debating myself, familiar black boots appear in my line of sight.

“Everything okay, Lapin?”

Sweeping my gaze up Chat’s toned figure, my eyes finally settle on his face, heart already feeling weak. With a sigh, I shake my head with a self-deprecating smile, a little amused at how quickly he could rattle me. “I’m fine, Chat. Just tired is all,” I finally reply, taking his offered hand and pulling myself up.

Stumbling into him, I take a sharp breath at the sudden contact. Almost pulling away by instinct, I find myself stopping just as we’re a hairs width away. Unable to resist my desires for a third time today, my forehead rests on his shoulder for a brief second as I take a deep breath, savoring the quick moment With my heart pounding like crazy I step away, hiding my feelings with a grin.

“I’ll see you guys later.”

And just like that I jump onto the top of the nearest building and leave, only pausing long enough to give a quick wave.

Reaching the hotel in record time, I land on the balcony I left from and peer into the large suite before changing back and cautiously sneaking in. Just as Blann hides in my camera case Jagged Stone struts in through the door, making me tense.

“How’s fang?” he asks quickly, not slowing his pace as he moves towards his bedroom.

Trailing after him, I start to prepare a quick explanation of why Sabrina was passed out on his bed. But, when we enter the bedroom, I instead let out a sigh of relief when she’s nowhere to be seen. She probably woke up earlier and was scared away by the crocodile.  

Jagged Stone quickly throws himself on top of Fang, cooing about how worried he was and how much he missed him. Feeling like a third party, I move to head back to the living room before he stops me.

“Hey, you,” he waves at me without moving his attention from Fang, “grab the lotion from off the table. Fang needs something to moisten up his scales, doesn’t he? Yes he does!”

Cringing inside at his baby talk, I try not to look too disgusted as I grab the large tube of lotion. I only had to hang on for a little longer before I could _finally_ get some sleep.

A slippery, frustrating hour passes before Mrs. Bustier came to finally get me.

Staring down at my lotion ruined gloves as she thanks Mr. Bourgeois, I hold in a defeated sigh. Even though I wanted to be careful with them, they still ended up gross and most likely useless. My shoulders slump unhappily. They were even the ones that let you use touchscreens too…

Mindlessly taking the paper that was handed to me, I go to shove it in my pocket before Marinette and Alya surround me, chattering excitably.

“Can you believe it? Tickets to an actual Jagged Stone concert!” Alya squeals, repeatedly looking over her ticket with a large grin.

“I know right? I can’t wait!” Marinette giggles before gasping and turning to me. “And this will be the perfect time for you to hear his music!”

Stopping myself just in time from making a disgruntled face, part of me was dying on the inside. I had every plan to take my medicine and pass out the moment my head hit the pillow. But at least I had time to go home and grab another pair of gloves and destress a bit before the concert…

Glancing at the ticket, I close my eyes and sigh.

Hopefully it wouldn’t be too crazy…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A short and a chapter at the same time? Yes. 
> 
> Did I procrastinate this chapter? Yes.
> 
> Am I glad I finally got it done? Yes.
> 
> Is it any good? You decide.
> 
> (Seriously though, I really liked finally having some more Adrien and Evan interaction. No matter how short.)


	25. Guitar Villain

Propping my foot against the coffee table, I continue flipping through the channels of the TV with a sigh. Today was a Saturday of absolutely nothing. Madeleine was at an overnight ballet retreat and I didn’t want to bother Aunt Claire while she was working. I usually never had a problem being alone, but today…today I was just feeling extra lonely.

“Something wrong?” questions Blann, spread across my ungloved hand that’s on the arm of the couch.

I shake my head. “I’m fine. Just a little bored,” I say before letting my head fall back with a barely audible groan. As my thumb mindlessly brushes over the rabbit Kwami’s head I stare up at the ceiling, mind wondering thoughtlessly. The sudden absence on warmth in my hand makes lean back up. Feeling him glue himself to my face, I smile lightly. “I’m really fine, Blann.”

He’s silent for a moment before pulling away. “Let’s go to the park! We can get some fresh air.” His large pink eyes stare at me imploringly until I finally relent with a nod of my head.

Turning off the TV as I stand, the excited humming coming from the Kwami was already putting some of my worries to ease. Pulling my gloves out of my pocket I slip them on, doing the same to my shoes before opening the door. Maybe being outside would help some of the gloomy feelings swirling inside me.

Heading down to the flower shop, I peak around the corner as Aunt Claire finishes with a costumer and clear my throat, gaining her attention. “Um…I just wanted you to know that I’m going to the park for a little bit—if that’s all right with you, I mean,” I cut in quickly, trying not to sound demanding.

She adjusts her glasses with a smile. “Of course you can go, sweetie. Just be back before dark.”

I nod. I doubted I’d even be gone that long. With a soft goodbye I leave through the back, making my way out the alley and into the street.

Reaching the park, the moment I step on the grass a loud cawing sound comes from above before a black and white mass almost crashes into my face. Quickly stumbling back, angry chittering comes from the ground in front of me as a familiar magpie pecks at my tennis shoes.

_The little thief._

“You scared me, _Kleine Dieb,_ ” I sigh out, crouching down to look at him better. “Sorry, but I didn’t bring any food today.” I show him my empty hands, smiling apologetically.

He tilts his head and seems to regard me for a moment before flying off.

Taking a second to watch him go, I shrug to myself before standing. If I didn’t know any better I’d say he was mad at me for not coming to the park more often. Shaking my head I move to my usual spot under the tree, sitting down and leaning against the bark with a sigh. But before I could fully relax, a familiar bird lands in front of me and drops a walnut at my feet.

Leaning forward I stare at him, unsure what exactly to do until he rolls the nut closer to me with an impatient squawk, almost urging me to take it.

Cautiously picking it up and looking it over in the palm of my hand, my eyes move back to the chittering magpie curiously. It was for me? Like a gift? “Uh…thanks,” I say slowly, shoving the walnut in my pocket as I try not to dwell on the oddness of the exchange. I mean, it was the first time I was ever given anything by an animal.

He mimics a child’s laugh as he hops on my knee, skittishness nowhere to be seen. As I watch in amazement, he chirps a few times before spreading his wings and flying away.

Loneliness momentarily forgotten, a small smile spreads across my face. Even though it was an animal it was almost like a weird validation of my existence, having something usually so reserved around people interacting with me so casually. Leaning back against the tree, some of the pressure in my chest lessens. It was a small thing, but it helped fill some of the empty feeling almost consuming me.

Finally comfortable enough to people watch, I look around the park at the bubbling excitement surrounding me. Usually it would be suffocating being in a busy area, but it was oddly relaxing now. I didn’t want to be alone with my own thoughts and this was the perfect place to not do that.

As my gaze sweeps across the many people, I do a double take at the sight of Nino and Alya sitting on the park bench next to the fountain. What were they doing…?

A sudden realization hits me and I look away, feeling like an intruder in their private moment. Marinette hinted at something about them liking each other after the whole Animan situation, so I guess this was a date? Feeling even more like a busybody, even though they didn’t even know I was here, I stand and try my best to not be obvious in my departure. I’d just go…somewhere else. Maybe the Fontaine du Palmier?

As I shuffle away, Alya yells my name from behind me and I freeze. Mentally apologizing to the both of them, I break into a full run, not stopping until I reach the corner of the mayor’s hotel.

Taking a deep breath as I slow to a stop, I rest my hands on my knees, a little happy that the street was deserted.

“Did you really just run away from your friends?” Blann questions skeptically, floating in front of me with a frown.

I look away guiltily. “I didn’t want to ruin their date. I’d just make things awkward if I ended up being the third wheel,” I explain, crossing my arms when I stand up straight.

He puffs out his cheeks as he glares at me. “You don’t know that! You could’ve had fun hanging out with them!”

Already feeling the impending tirade about my future preparing, I hold in a groan. He was impossible to stop when he got like this. Scuffing my shoe against the concrete as I only half-listen to him the sudden sounds of cars crashing quickly pulls my attention around the corner.

Seeing a large _dragon_ shoot up in the air, I hold in a gasp before loud rock music makes me turn just in time to watch purple soundwaves coming from a guitar entrance the doorman, causing him to start rocking out with the music.

Disappearing back around the corner as the newest Akumatized villain continues to entrance people, I bring my bracelet up and give Blann a firm nod. It was time to transform.

“Blann, ears up.”

Hoping to the top of a lamppost to better survey the situation I spot Chat on the fountain egging on the guitar villain. Without pause I rush over to him, skidding to a stop as the large statue in the middle of the fountain cracks under the strength of the now yellow soundwaves.

“Lapin, the people!” Chat yells before he even lands safely.

Nodding, I quickly activate my Miraculous and adrenaline begins pumping in my veins. Taking off towards where the statue was going to fall, I almost groan at the amount of people there before hastily beginning to move them out of the way. Resorting to just (lightly) pushing most of them towards alleys and shop entrances, I barely avoid being crushed by the statue myself.

Not allowing myself to slow or take a breather (knowing it would cause my adrenaline to drain) I rush back towards the fountain. Knowing Chat, he was probably having a bit of trouble.

Immediately spotting the dragon breathing green flames at a prone Chat, I quickly rush towards him and drag him out of the fires range by the arm. With a firm reprimand on the tip of my tongue, he suddenly shoves me with a yell as yellow soundwaves brush by the back of my head. Hearing Chat hit the building beside us, I’m momentarily stunned at the fact that he actually saved me.

Seeing the soundwaves shove him in the brick once more, I shake my head and quickly hop up. I could coo about how cool he was later. Right now I had to help him. Ignoring the slowly creeping tiredness, my eyes focus on the guitar wielding villain as I pull out my tonfas.

Before I could get too close to him a ball of green flames causes me to skid to a halt. Whipping my gaze to the sky as the dragon circles back around, I silently curse at the sight and start running the opposite direction. There was no way I could get close to him while that thing was around.

Dodging another burst of flames I use a nearby lamppost to swing back around and slide across the hood of a car. Searching wildly for Chat, my heart leaps in my throat as a car comes barreling my way. Barely avoiding it by dropping to the ground, it takes an a little more effort than I’d like to pick myself up.

Just as I manage to get up, Ladybug appears from nowhere and stops a ball of flames from hitting Chat. But then, not even a moment later, she wraps her yoyo around his leg and flings him up towards the dragons face, shouting at him to use his staff.

And he does, jamming it into the dragon’s mouth before being flung off. Instead of slamming into the side of the building he rights himself last minute and instead shoves off of it, catching his staff as he goes to land on the ground.

Though the impressive display is abruptly cut short when he slams face first into a crossing light.

As he hops foot-to-foot holding his nose in pain, I find the energy to rush over to him, pulling his hands away from his face in a quick motion. “Don’t touch it too much. It might be broken,” I say firmly, cupping his face with both my hands as I stare intently at his nose. It didn’t seem to be bleeding or swelling up…in fact, he looked as good as always...

My eyes flicker to the rest of his unmarred face before landing on his eyes. They were a beautiful emerald green that I could look at forever. My favorite was when they almost seemed to twinkle when he laughed. Or even when they darkened when he was serious. Or…well, I’d be hard pressed to find something about them I _didn’t_ like.

Suddenly coming to my senses, heat rushes to my face as I quickly release him and step away. “Everything looks good,” I say, blood pounding in my ears as I hope my smile isn’t as awkward as I felt.

But, just like that, the moment is broken as a yelling Guitar Villain glares down at us from atop his dragon. “You’re wasting my time. I’ve got a concert to get to,” he shouts, dragon carrying him towards the Eiffel tower.

Unable to really summon the strength or desire to join Chat and Ladybug as they jump to the roof, I all but throw myself on top of the nearest car hood with a groan. Now that I could look back at my thoughts about Chat, it was embarrassingly obvious how cheesy my mind tended to be when it came to him. Groaning again, I press my slowly cooling face to the car. I’d see what they had planned before transforming back.

Hearing them land next to me, I take a deep breath before standing up straight. “So what’s the plan?” I ask, looking at the two as I roll my shoulders.

“We’re following him to the Eiffel tower. Hopefully we can stop him there,” Ladybug explains quickly.

I nod, glancing at Chat before my Miraculous bleeps. “I’ll meet up with you guys later then. Be safe.”

Waving at them as they head towards the tower, my chest deflates as I let out a long sigh before taking off towards home. First thing first was getting something for Blann to eat.

Quickly reaching ‘ _L'amour des fleurs’_ I land on my balcony and transform back as I open the door. Holding Blann in my hand, I climb across my bed and grab the dried strawberries stuffed in my nightstand. Laying him on one of the pillows next to me, I tear open the bag and dump some in front of him.

With quick _thanks_ he starts to shovel them in his mouth at lightning speed.

Chuckling at his ravenous behavior, I turn on the TV and busy myself with whatever was last left on, which turned out to be an interview with some sort of musician. Quickly losing interest, I fall back into my bed as my thoughts inevitably trail off to Chat. While I was certainly displeased that he risked his own safety to save me… _he was just so cool!_ A large grin unwittingly spreads across my face as my heart flutters warmly in my chest.

“ _Someone’s thinking about Chat Noir_ ,” Blann sings teasingly, bag rustling as he grabs more dried strawberries.

My ears burn as I roll away from him. It was still embarrassing getting caught red-handed cooing over Chat, no matter how many times it happened.

The crinkling stops as a giggling Blann lays across my face, small paw patting my burning cheek reassuringly. “Sorry for embarrassing you, Evan,” his giggling lessens as he snuggles against me, “I’m just happy to see you happy.”

“Thanks, I guess…” I mumble, the warmth in my face slowly starting to lessen. Shifting my gaze out the glass balcony door, my hand twitches at the thought of Ladybug and Chat possibly fighting without me. “Ready to go?” I ask, throwing my legs over the side of my bed and sitting up. The last thing I’d want is for them to get hurt while I was busy lazing around.

Zipping to the bag and quickly swallowing a few more strawberries, Blann wipes his mouth while grinning at me. “Let’s go!”

Stepping out to the balcony, I close the door behind me and take a deep breath. It was time to get back to work.

Quickly transforming, I leap up to the roof before bringing up the GPS on the base of my tonfa. Seeing their blips at the TV station, I slip the weapon back onto my belt and rush towards their location.

Nearing them, I spot the two speaking to the musician from the interview. Readying an energetic yell it instead turns into a garbled warning as the large dragon from earlier swoops past me, making a beeline for them. But before they could even acknowledge my yelled warning the musician is scooped up in the dragon’s mouth.

Landing next to them as he’s carried away, I cough into my fist. “I tried to warn you.”

They both shoot me glares before following after the large reptile. With a grin I quickly catch up to them before we come to a stop on top of a slanted roof.

“Back to square one,” sighs Chat, stretching out his arms and shoulders as he glances at Ladybug.

She puts her hands on her hips as she stares out at the Eiffel Tower. “I get the feeling we’re in for quite the concert.” She turns to the both of us. “You two ready?”

Grinning at her, Chat and I fist bump as we both cheer, “To Rock n’ Riff, baby!” before jumping down and making our way to the Eiffel Tower.

The sky quickly darkens as we begin our ascent up the brightly lit tower, almost falling off as strong soundwaves pass by us.

“XY’s gonna fall!” Ladybug alerts, straightening up as she does so.

“Talk about being between a rock and a hard place,” Chat remarks before grabbing Ladybug as she gets ready to throw her yoyo.

A spark of sourness singes my heart as I pause momentarily; fighting to hide the unhappiness swirling in my stomach. Feeling their eyes on me, I do my best to grin and brush the feeling away with a forced laugh. “Coming,” I say, wrapping my arms around Ladybug’s free waist while avoiding any possible probing stares.

As we zip up the tower, I force down any problematic feelings and focus on thinking through a possible strategy on saving that XY guy. Because whatever he did must’ve _really_ angered Guitar Villain. But before I could really start to think, my eyes lock on the dragon as it swoops in-between the towers frames.

A sharp gasp escapes my mouth as it severs the yoyo’s string, stomach leaping to my throat as we suddenly start falling. For a brief moment time seems to slow to a crawl as my heart pounds painfully in my chest. But then, like being jerked away, the bubble pops as an alarmed yell leaves my mouth.

Suddenly a firm grip on my ankle stops me in my tracks as I swing to the side. Any shock is quickly shoved aside as I hastily reach for a screaming Ladybug passing by me. With my fingers just brushing her arm, we make eye contact for a moment before she careens past me, leaving me watching her in shock as I dangle upside down.

Anxiety fills me and I look up at Chat, who’s holding onto his extended staff with his other hand. “I didn’t catch her. You’ve gotta let me go,” I say urgently, surprised when his grip tightens with a shake of his head.

“She’ll be fine, Lapin. She can handle herself.”

A part of me wanted to argue his point, but ultimately I agree with him with a groan. I knew I had a tendency to be a little too overprotective, but still…

Going slack, my arms dangle as I stare out at the dark skyline blankly. We were pretty exposed like this, basically inviting the dragon to finish the job at this point. Shaking my head to stop the beginning of a trail of negative thoughts, I look back up at Chat and smirk, nudging his side with my free foot.

”So…hang out here often?” I quip, smirk growing as he chuckles.

“Careful, Lapin, make me laugh and I might drop you. Then who’ll you _hang_ with?” he replies with a cheesy grin.

Smiling, a light, feathery feeling fills my chest and suddenly I can’t keep my feelings from spilling out of my mouth. “Chat, I lo…”

A loud beat of wings echoes through the air and I only have a quick moment to look over at the dragon before it swoops under us, a small familiar hand grabbing my wrist and yanking me down. Landing on the dragon’s back with a thud, Chat’s lands on top of me and I inhale sharply, instinctually wrapping my arm around his waist and using my free hand to grip one of the spikes on the reptile’s back. No matter what, I didn’t want him to panic and fall off.

As he sits up I loosen my grip on him, eventually letting him go completely, heart fluttering annoyingly in my chest the whole time. With my face feeling like it was melting, I find my footing and stand on shaky legs, already completely mortified at what I almost spouted at him. Did I really almost tell him how I felt out of the blue?

I bite the inside of my cheek with a frown. The blood rushing to my head must’ve made me a little lightheaded without me knowing. I take a deep breath and nod to myself. It made sense, being upside down messing with my reasoning and everything.

_That’s all it was._

Noticing Chat stand and place his hands on Ladybug’s shoulders, he shoots me a grin. “Don’t be afraid to hold on to me closely, Lapin, wouldn’t want you to fall.”

I blink dumbly, mind stalling for a moment. It almost sounded like...no, I shake my head and carefully rest my hands on his shoulders, Chat was just a bit flirty by nature. My brain was just grasping at straws. But, more importantly, I was beyond certain that my face was hot enough to fry an egg at this point. Misunderstanding or no, it still made my heart feel funny.

His comment to Ladybug flies right past me, as I was too busy focusing on letting the wind cool my heated face. A big plus to riding on the dragon’s back was it let me get rid of the uncomfortable heat pooling in my cheeks and ears a lot faster.

Swooping down as Ladybug interrupts Guitar Villains playing; XY’s nervous plea for help hits my eardrums like an explosion. Frowning, I frustratingly shove down my chaotic feelings and take a few calming breaths. It wasn’t time for that. Right now we had an Akuma to purify, and more importantly, a person to save.

Hearing Chat compliment Ladybug, I quickly grin and shout over the wind, “Yeah, nice thinking, Ladybug!”

“You’re too late. Nothing can stop Guitar Villain,” the rock star’s voice carries up to us before he starts playing on his guitar. “Rock n’ Riff Baby!”

Ladybug turns the dragon away from the Eiffel Tower. “We only rock to the real Jagged Stone,” she says, maneuvering around a soundwave quickly.

I glance at the rocker for a quick moment. So that was Jagged Stone…

“His Akuma must be in his guitar,” she says, looking back at me and Chat.

“How’re we gonna get that?” questions Chat, me nodding along with him.

“Let’s go backstage.” She tugs at the homemade reigns and avoids more soundwaves as she circles around and dips under the viewing area of the Eiffel tower.

The impact of the dragon hitting the bars flings us forward and the three of us end up scattered across different metal beams.

Holding in a pained groan as I stand and hold my stomach, I glance at the two. “You guys okay?”

They both nod before we begin heading back up the tower, reaching the top in time to see the Guitar Villain once again attempting to make XY fall with his music.

As Ladybug activates her Lucky Charm, my eyes remain trained on the man on the board. I wasn’t going to let him fall.

My attention is briefly broke as Ladybug puzzles over her Lucky Item. “Extreme fixing gel?” she muses, shifting the bottle in her hands.

Chat slides up to her and leans over her shoulder. “You plan on doing his hair?”

The tiniest, minuet spark of jealously pokes through the wall blocking my feelings, and I roughly pinch my cheek with a quiet reprimand. _Not. Now._

The ground suddenly shakes and I stumble before catching my footing. _Focus, Evan._ Shifting my gaze between the villain and the trembling XY, the familiar twinge of pain in my strained shoulders almost makes me wince. “You have a plan, Bug?” I question quietly, finger digging into the aching muscles.

Ladybug is silent for a moment before perking up. “Actually, yes,” she says. “Chat Noir get him. Lapin Blanc, you get XY somewhere safe.” She glances back at me and I nod obediently.

Leaping up with Chat, I fall back as he charges at Guitar Villain, waiting for the right moment to slip passed.

I quietly groan as Chat backs him up fully on the board. They were both in the way at this point! Holding in a grumble, I refocus my energy on watching Guitar Villain for any slip ups. After all, all I needed was a moment of brief obliviousness to rush pass.

My moment seems to come when Chat’s Cataclysm is unable to hold against the sheer strength of the guitar’s continuous soundwaves. Fighting back the instinctual urge to help him, I activate my Miraculous and take a running jump over the head thrashing star, careful to land behind him as gently as possible.

“What are you waiting for?” XY shrieks loudly. “Get me out—!”

Quickly covering his mouth with my hand, I narrow my eyes at him. “Quiet,” I hiss out, glancing behind me and relaxing at the sight of the Guitar Villain still rocking out. Lifting him in my arms, I tense at the way the wood creaks under me. It was _really_ time to go.

Watching as Ladybug stiffens Guitar Villain’s hair with the hairspray, I wince again at how the wood creaks before quickly leaping to the fence. Setting XY down the moment my feet touch the ground, I busy myself with untying him as Ladybug breaks the Akumatized guitar.

“All good,” I say to the blonde musician as the last of the ropes fall to the ground, fully intending to check on Chat next. But he quickly blocks my  path and crosses his arms.

“Uh…did you need anything else?” I question lightly, spotting the ladybugs beginning to fly through the city out of the corner of my eye.

“Um, yeah?” he replies snootily, giving me serious Chloe vibes.

But I bite my tongue, shuffling my feet as I wait for him to continue.

He groans dramatically and rolls his eyes. “I’m XY, the famous musician…?” he trails off expectantly.

I do my best to keep my confusion off my face. “And…? I’m Lapin Blanc…”

“Whatever,” he scoffs, before making a face and stepping behind me when he spots Jagged Stone. “What’s _he_ doing here?”

Ladybug turns to us. “He came to tell you that perhaps you’ve…uh…” she fumbles for a moment, “underestimated the power of his music.”

XY points at Jagged Stone accusingly from behind me. “This guy’s crazy!”

The musician thanks him smugly as Chat steps up to him, asking for his autograph.

My chest warms at the sight of his excitement, only taking my eyes off him when Ladybug quickly leaves with a swift goodbye.

“Well, she was in a rush,” Chat remarks, watching her swing away before looking over his signed picture once again.

I nod in agreement. Now that I thought about it, it was pretty late…

My eyes widen as I tense. Aunt Claire! She was going to kill me when I got home!

“I’ve gotta go, bye!” I breathe out hastily, hoping over the fence and waving at Chat before quickly working my way down the tower.

Leaping off the side of the metal beam I land on the closet rooftop, not slowing down during my journey until the moment by feet touch the familiar alleyway ground. Transforming as I rush to the back entrance of the shop, the agonizing moments it takes to unlock the door heighten my already stressed nerves.

Carefully easing it open, I slip through the opening and swallow heavily. I was way passed the set curfew she gave me.

Almost sighing in relief at the sight of the darkened shop, I carefully shut the door behind me and start my nerve-wracking trek up the stairs. If I had the time correct Aunt Claire was probably finishing cooking dinner, most likely worried beyond belief at my absence.

Staring down the thin piece of wood that separated me from my no doubt severe punishment, I raise a shaky hand to the knob and try to control my thudding heartbeat. While I knew I’d get in trouble, this was Aunt Claire we were talking about after all. It wasn’t like she’d slap me around just because I was an hour or so late to curfew… _right?_

My pulse quickens as I open the door, apology already halfway working its way out of my tightening throat. But before I could even fumble out the words, a set of relieved yells cut me off as a body slams into my stomach, arms wrapping around my waist tightly.

“See? I told mom not to worry!” Madeleine shouts, squeezing me tightly before stepping back with a large grin. “I knew you’d be back in time for dinner.”

Smiling down at her, I ruffle her bright red hair before cautiously peaking over at my cross looking aunt. “ _Entschuldigung_ ,” I apologize hastily, voice almost cracking. “I didn’t mean to stay out so late and make you guys worry. I was…” my mind briefly flashes to the fighting earlier. No way could I tell her any of that. “Hanging out with some friends and lost track of time…sorry,” I apologize again, shifting my gaze to the floor guiltily.

A loud sigh come from her. “I understand—”

I glance up at her, silently hoping I somehow evaded my punishment.

“—but you’re still grounded for the next two weeks.”

My shoulders slump but I nod quietly. After all, it could be a lot worse. Twelve days were nothing compared to other punishments I’ve received.

Aunt Claire suddenly claps her hands together and looks at me with a warm smile. “Now that that’s over, how about the two of you help me finish dinner? You can tell me more about this boy you like; I didn’t get to ask a lot last time.”

I don’t bother hiding the groan that escapes my mouth, cheeks already starting to warm. Maybe I was wrong...

This punishment really might be the worst I've received.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So here we are, almost exactly a month since my last post. I had a bit of a writer's block (which is weird since I'm basically unorignally following the plot of the show, right??) but I was recently motivated to finish up this chapter. I forgot how nice it felt writing this story, so hopefully this cured my infernal writer's block lol
> 
> Anyway, hope you liked this chapter!


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